El Academy
by ShiragaKizuato
Summary: Add was forced by the Student Council to solve the requests from student to lighten his punishment. Why did he accept this deal? What will he discover at the El Academy? What kind of secret awaiting him? read to find out. OC include
1. Chapter 1: Student Council Request

**Shiraga: **hi guys shiraga here. i had this idea when for quite sometime, so now that im done with El Chronicle ss1, this will be my second fanfic. Feuer Klugheit, my OC is included in this fanfic, and i'll be using Japan formal speaking in this one.

list of character reference:

Add: Lunatic Psyker

Feuer: Phoenix Chain (if you havent read my profile for info about him yet, Phoenix Chain specialized in Feuer talent to control fire)

Ara: Asura

Eve: Code Battle Seraph (she is not a nasod in this one btw)

Chung: Deadly Chaser

El Academy uniform: not those costume from the item mall, imagine their uniform like any uniform that you can found in manga: black jacket, white T-shirt inside, long trousers and a tie for boys and bow tie for girls

other character will be reveal later. And one more thing: in this fanfic, the characters are in a magic school, so their skill in the skill tree will be limited, they will only able to use certain skills respectively to their element while some skills will be change to fit with their element. Ex: Add can only use skill like Statis Field while skill like Quake buster will be change a bit to fit his electricity element. further details will be mention as the story goes on. and if any of you is curious, the word "yankee" i used in here is pretty much the same meaning as bullies

no more further ado, hope you enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 1: the Student Council request**

* * *

(in this part, the XXX is the name, i censored for future references.)

"_Hurry up guys!"_—an energetic voice of a kid that was having the most wonderful time of his childhood with his friend.

"_Slow down XXX! Wait for us!"_—one of his friends shouted while trying to catch up with him.

"_Hahahaha! You guys are too slow!"_

"_XXX! Carry me! Now we will see who slow!"_

"_I don't think that count as being faster XXX…"_

But none of them know that these precious times will soon turn into the worst nightmare of their life.

"_Mommy! Daddy! Where are you?"_—the kid who was being the most energetic before now crying, desperately looking for his parents in the burning flame.

"_XXX! We have to get out of here! This place is coming down on us!"_—his closest friend shouted while trying to support the crying figure.

The ceiling, suffering from the fire and the tremor collapsed on them.

"_XXX!"_

When the ceiling was coming down, the older kid pushed the crying one out of the way, saved him from being crushed by the fabrics. The first kid, feeling guilty for pushing his friend into danger, began to cry even louder. In his unconscious state, he unintentionally released a giant explosion from his body that immediately wiped out the fire and turned the burning facility into dust. Exhausted by all the crying, the sudden lost of his parents and his new power, the kid then collapsed to the ground, right next to his unconscious friend.

* * *

-15 years later, El Academy—

"Unacceptable!"—a teacher shouted, full of anger while slamming the pile of papers on the table.

"You are only second year, yet the amount of day that you absented from class were equaled to the amount of absent day of a fourth year yankee since he started school!"—the teacher continued, still with his full of anger tone.

The student that was being scolded was, not paying any attention. He had messy white hair, and they seemed to defy all law of gravity and physics.

"Yeah yeah yeah, you done with your shouting yet old man?"—the student asked back while poking his ear.

The teacher was already full of anger, now erupted like a volcano. The other teachers have to stop him.

"Look like none of the teacher can deal with you, Add-kun."—Vanessa sighed. Then a hand placed on her shoulder.

"Vanessa-sensei, please leave him to me."—a girl with white flowing hair, splitted into 2 at the end said. Her clothes were clean and extremely tidy. From her bow tie, her black jacket, her skirt, completely opposite from the other student name Add. His jacket was unbuttoned, with a loose tie hanging around his neck, and his white T-shirt inside was also messy as his hair.

"Well, I'll leave it to you then, Student Council President, Eve-san."—Vanessa let out another sigh. Eve nodded back then turned around and motioned her hand for Add to follow. At first, Add frowned as he hate being commanded like a puppy, but seeing that the teacher was going crazy and yelling with strange language, so he just grunted and follow.

They walked along the hall way, passed the classroom block. All of the students bowed their head when they saw Eve, as she won the chair of Student Council President with the absolute number of vote. Add looked out of the window and saw several students were practicing their magic. Because this place, is the El Academy.

* * *

15 years ago, the place where the school was built used to be a laboratory, but it was destroyed mysteriously. 1 year later, the residents of the nearby areas, especially kids of the age from 15 to 20, were able use supernatural power, after some research, they called those supernatural powers by the name, the 'Contract of El'. The government then immediately built the El Academy, to research further about this irregular occurrence, and to prevent those with new power from harming others, but no one know what kind of secrets they are hiding from the people. Normal school will teach normal stuff needed for future, then at El Academy, there will be some special classes that will teach the students how to use, exploit and control their power better for future uses. There are various type of magic, from elemental control, materialization, etc, so the education program was also variable to fit each category of magic.

In an underground basement was a large chamber that was built as the core of the El Academy, not even a nuclear warhead can destroy that chamber. Inside, containing the Elnigma, the machine that was created to keep an eye on the student power status. The machine updates the physical and emotional state of the student every day through a bracelet that all students must always wear. The bracelets also act as an ID card, so the student of El Academy can use all the transportation for free as long as they have the bracelet on. It will inform the teachers which student was having difficulty in controlling their power, so the teachers can help that student. But the machine was only built for supervising purpose, so it does not have any function to neutralize the student if their power goes out of control. It can only tell the position of that student, the rest will be take care by the school supervisors.

* * *

After a while walking, Eve and Add reached a big brown door with the sign of the student council on top. The door was opened inward by a blonde male figure.

"Welcome back, Eve-sama."—the male greeted.

"Chung, I'll have my tea after this conversation."—Eve said, the one named Chung bowed his head then proceeded to a room nearby to prepare the tea.

"Would you like to have a seat?"—Eve said while pointing at the sofa in front of her desk.

"Thank you for your hospitality."—Add said with a smile, but it soon changed back into his previous irritation expression. "So what is it that you want from me?"

Eve sat down on her chair, then started. "I want you to help the Student Council.

"Help you?"—Add asked back.

"Yes. The mission of the Student Council is to guarantee that all students can happily learning at school, so we accept all help request from the students through 'Request box'. But recently, we were lacking on manpower, so I want you to help the Student Council."—Eve said and just in time, Chung came with a tea tray. Eve then motioned her hand, Chung then walked toward Add and handed over to him a white disk-shape device.

"What is this thing?"—Add asked why examining the device.

"Every day, after selecting the suitable requests, the request that we need your cooperation will be sent to you through that device. It will provide you all the necessary data about the request like the client and the position."—Eve continued with her explanation.

"Not interest."—Add responded bluntly, then placed the device back on the table and walked toward the door.

"Of course I'm not asking you to do it for free. How about we make a deal?"—Eve said, Add looked back over his shoulder.

"What kind of deal?"—he asked.

"If you help me, I'll use my authority as the Student Council President to lighten your punishment. If you continue at this rate, you will be kick out of El Academy soon. And I heard that you came to this school to look **for something**."—Eve emphasized the last part which caused Add eye to widen.

"Where the heck did you get that information?"—Add asked as electricity started to built up around his body, but he already knew the answer to that question. The one he was facing is the Student Council President, of course she knew all the information about the students.

"So do we have a deal?"—Eve asked again.

Add was fighting with his own mind. One side, he hates being commanded, especially when it comes from Student Council. The other side, he wants to lighten his punishment to stay in school longer, until he achieve his goal. He gritted his teeth and shoved the device into his pocket.

"I look forward to working with you."—Eve said then took the tea cup from Chung. Add responded back by closing the door with a loud slam.

"Is it really okay to choose him, Eve-sama?"—Chung asked while pouring more tea into the cup.

"He is the perfect choice."

* * *

"Gaaaah! THIS IS WHY I HATE HAVING ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE STUDENT COUNCIL!"—Add was cursing and accidentally crushed his juice box. He was sitting under a tree in the school yard as it was lunch time.

"Now I have to take order from that missy everyday through this."—Add said while staring at the device.

"What kind of order?"—a figure with grey spiky hair and a small, long braided pony asked. He was hanging up-side-down on a tree branch, and because of his sudden appearance, Add startled and fell on the ground.

"Dang it Feuer! Stop appearing from out of nowhere and scare me like that!"—Add yelled at the male figure name Feuer as he hopped down from the tree branch.

"I saw that you were being really mad, so I thought a little surprise would ease you a bit. You should have seen your face when you were scared."—Feuer said as he laughed a bit while remembering Add scared face.

"Not helping at all."—Add said back.

"So what is all this taking order and Student Council things?"—Feuer asked. Add then told him about how he got into a big mess and ended up being forced to help the Student Council solving their request from students.

"So starting from tomorrow, I'll become their servant."—Add said while facepalming, Feuer patted his shoulder to reassure him.

"Don't worry, Add-kun. I'll give you a hand."—Add just sighed as Feuer pat doesn't help him getting away from being Eve servant. Then the bell rang announcing that the lunch break is over.

"Let just get back to class. We can think about this later."—Feuer said then the 2 moved back to their class.

Add opened the door then walked inside, with both his hands in his pocket. Following by Feuer with both his hands behind the back of his head. All the classmates stared at Add with a full of hatred glare, as he is the school most famous yankee. Even those in the fourth year know him, but he paid no mind to any of those 2 things. On Feuer side, the classmate just gave him normal and friendly greet. Their seats were near the window, Add at the very back seat while Feuer seat was right in front of him, but the chair right next to Add, was always empty. They took their seat as the teacher walked into class. And just like usual, Add fell asleep after 5 minutes.

The rest of the day quickly passed, the bell rang for the last time of the day.

"Add-kun, wake up, class ended already."—Feuer slightly shook Add shoulder to wake him up. Add lifted his head up from the table, stretched his muscle and let out a big yawn.

"What a good sleep."

"Even if you don't skip class, what difference does it make if you always sleep in class like this?"—Feuer laughed as the 2 leave the classroom and moved toward the school gate. They took their shoes out of the lockers and left the school yard.

* * *

Downtown, it already 6 in the noon, sun started setting down and the street began to fill up with light from the light bulbs. Workers getting home from their work, couples being lovey-dovey on the street. And just like any day, Add and Feuer walked toward a small restaurant at the corner of the street, the Glitter Hunter. The 2 entered, walked pass the customers and waiters swiftly toward the back sector.

The 2 enter the changing room and changed into their work uniform. Add in waiter costume, a white T-shirt inside with a sleeveless black one outside, black trousers and black apron. Feuer also had the same uniform, but his apron was white, as they both have different role in this restaurant. Add as the waiter and Feuer as the cook. After done with changing, the 2 exit the room.

"Lento-senpai, we will take it from here."—Feuer waved at a black haired figure name Lento, who was also in waiter uniform similar to Add. Seeing the 2, Lento waved back and walked toward the changing room.

"I'll leave it to you 2 then."

"Okay, let get to work Add."—Feuer said. Add then picked up a note book and started to take order from the customers, while Feuer preparing the ingredients in the kitchen and began cooking. Every day, at 6:15 at night, after school the 2 will come to the Glitter Hunter restaurant as part timers. Suddenly the restaurant started to crowd up even more than usual. Most of them are frequenters, the rest were those that wanted to try the food here.

Add sweat dropped as the amount of guest greatly increased in a blink of eye.

"Since Feuer-chan work here, the number of guest that eats here increases every day. They all wanted to try Feuer-chan food. Well, good luck serving all the customers at once, Add-kun."—Ann, the owner of the restaurant said then patted Add shoulder.

"_Feuer, curse you and your cooking talent!"_—Add screamed internally while struggling with delivering the dishes and taking order at the same time. After a while, he managed to take a short break by taking out the trash.

"Every day is like a battlefield…"—Add said to himself while wiping his sweat away.

"Hey there gurl, why don't you come and have a little fun with us?"—Add saw 2 guys were surrounding a girl. And by their way of talking, they are definitely not good guy.

"Oi, you 2. If you want to have fun, go somewhere else."—Add said. One of them then walked toward Add, pulling out a knife.

"What did you say? Don't mess with us or I'll leave a scar on your face."—the guy said while pointing the knife at Add. Add then clenched his fist as purple electricity started to build up around his fist, but he only use enough power to not alert the Elnigma. He gave the guy an uppercut and sent him flying, into the trash can behind him. The blast from the attack lighten up the surrounding, showing his whole face and a purple scar running from his forehead down to his cheek

"Sorry, but I got my own scar already."—Add said then moved toward the other one.

"I'm kinda in a really bad mood right now. If you still treasure your live, take that one and leave."—Add said while cracking his knuckles and ready for beat up if the other one refuse to leave. The other one immediately dragged his partner out of the trash can then ran away.

"Tch, pathetic jerk."—Add said then turned to the girl. She had black, long hair and wearing the El Academy uniform. But the front proportion was a bit messy, so it covered her almost her whole face. The girl said nothing, but just bowed as a thanks then quickly left. Add scratched the back of his head, then returned to taking order.

Time passed like an arrow. It was already 9:30. The last guest of the restaurant finally left. Everyone was cleaning up before leaving. In a corner, Add was leaning against the wall while huffing for air. Feuer walked toward Add and handed over to him a bottle of juice. Add quickly snatched the bottle from Feuer and drank up the whole bottle in one go.

"It…sure is…a miracle…that I'm still…alive until today…with this kind of work every day…"

The 2 then changed back to their school uniform, waved goodbye to everyone then took the train home. They both lived in the same house. The house looked just like any other ordinary house: cream colored wall, a medium sized living room with a sofa and a TV, some plain and simple furniture, a small kitchen and a small garden. On the second floor are 2 rooms. One with a panel with Add name written on it hanging on the door, the one next to it is Feuer room.

"You want me to make some midnight snack Add-kun?"—Feuer asked while taking off the shoes. Add just threw off the shoes and walk tiredly toward the sofa.

"Yeah, would be nice. I'm out of energy."—Add said then dropped himself on the sofa and turned on the TV while Feuer preparing some snack. Add changed the channel to check on the news.

"_Yesterday, another research facility resided in Velder was destroyed. Until now, this is the 6__th__ facility, the government still haven't caught the criminal behind all this destruction yet."_

"They still haven't caught the criminal yet huh?"—Feuer said with 2 dishes of grilled fish in his hand. Add took one dish and started munching on it.

"Those pests sure have lot of free time to go and destroy all those facilities for fun. At this rate, this world will soon fall into chaos. But I would love to see a world like that: people running in panic like a bunch of ducks."—Add laughed with a piece fish bone between his teeth.

"Wonder what would Add-kun face look like if he fell into chaos?"—Feuer asked to himself while trying to imagine, which caused Add to spit the fish bone in his mouth out.

"I know that you are always hunger for knowledge, but stop imagine those kind of things already. You freaked me out sometime you know."—Add said full of irritation.

"Hahahaha! The expression of your face is at the top of my must-complete collection list!"—Feuer laughed. Add just smirked back and finished his dish.

* * *

Later morning, the 2 went to school after locking the door. Then the device in Add pocket vibrated slightly. Add took out the device and turned it on. A long list of request was showed on the holographic screen. The 2 remained quiet for 5 minute of awkward silent.

"Seriously? She said they will select suitable requests, but I felt like they are pushing all the work on me."—Add said then facepalming at the long list of request. Feuer patted Add shoulder. Add then smirked and soon turned into a big maniacal laugh.

"Kehahahaha! Fine then, just you wait little miss president, I'll complete all these request, and when I got my punishment lightened, I'll show the truth to the students that Student Council is just a bunch of useless morons!"

* * *

First request: clean the gym

Client: Basketball club captain Lowe

"Finally, Student Council accepted our request at last. But…"—Lowe, the captain of the basketball club said in joy, then he titled his head to the side when seeing Add. "…I didn't expect it to be you."

"So do you need our help or not?"- Add, irritated by his word, took one step forward and grabbed Lowe by his collar.

"O…okay, sorry."—Lowe said, Add then let go of his collar. Lowe led the 2 inside the gym and gave them the cleaning tool. "I'll leave thing here for you 2."—Lowe said then walked outside. Add stared at the gigantic gym for a while, then soaked the piece of rag into the bucket.

"Let get to work. I'll deal with the second floor, Feuer, you take care of the first floor."—Add said then began cleaning the second floor and other equipments.

"You are such a little clever, Add-kun. You left me with the hardest part."—Feuer laughed then started cleaning. After 30 minutes, Add and Feuer finally done with cleaning the giant gym. "Wow, I'm impressed. Even if the whole basketball club, it would normally take us 1 hour."

After several more quests the 2 finally reached the final request of the day.

"Finally, last request. Let see…"—Add said while scanning through the last request on the list.

Request: help a student

Client: Student Council President Eve.

"A request from the Student Council? This must be big."—Feuer said at the moment the name Student Council was the client caught his eyes. The 2 then started finding the Martial Art club. After a while, they found a big dojo in the school West garden. El Academy school area consisted of the classroom block for normal subjects, the special classroom block for magic training and 4 gardens: North, South, West and East garden. After school activities are also an important part, so the school designed the gardens to fit each type of culture from each club.

The 2 stood in front of the dojo door and checked the request detail one more time.

"So, one of our classmate had been absent from class since the start of second year. Her name is Ara Haan. If she continues to absent like this, she will be kick out of school soon. Look like you got yourself a rival Add-un"—Feuer said after checking the detail.

"Wait, I absented from class much more than her, how come I haven't got kicked out of school yet?"—Add asked.

"Because every time there is a test, you were always in class. But this situation, she absents even when the test takes place."—Feuer sighed.

Add just whistled while Feuer trying to open the door. It was locked, Add then pushed Feuer aside and kicked the door open. "Who need key and permission when you can just burst your way in?"

The 2 walked inside the dojo. It was dark and gloomy, and dusty, like no one have clean it for century. They were looking for the one name Ara Haan, as mentioned in the request.

"D…do not proceed any further."—then a voice said from the dark. The 2 look around to find the source of the voice, but it was too dark that they can barely see anything in 1 meter radius.

"Tch, I hate dark place like this."—Add said then released a small electric shock. Because of the shock, the light bulbs in the dojo then immediately turned on, showing a girl with black long hair holding a wooden spear, the messy proportion covered her almost her whole face.

"Wait, you are the girl that I met in the alley yesterday."—Add said as he realized the girl.

"What…are you…here for?"—the girl asked with her shaky voice while pointing the spear at the 2.

"You must be Ara Haan right? We are here to help you. We were sent here from the Student Council. If you continue to absent from class like this, you will be kicked out of school. Like a certain someone next to me."—Feuer whispered the last part, but it didn't get away from Add ears. "Hey, I heard that."

"I…I don't need any help. If…if they wanted to kick me out of school…then…then so be it. I appreciated your help yesterday, but I don't need any help!"—Ara continued with her shaky tone then using the spear to push the 2 outside, and locked the door again.

"Tch, you think locking the door can stop me? I'll just burst my way in again."—Add said while cracking his knuckles, but Feuer stopped him.

"We will come back later. Maybe she need some time to think this through."—then the 2 left the dojo and Ara behind.

* * *

-Later morning-

"Ara-dono, please open the door!"—Feuer shouted from outside, but not waiting for the answer, Add kicked the door open again.

"You didn't even wait for me to reply!"—Ara shouted.

"Because waiting for someone to reply is a pain in the ass. I only make people wait for me, I never wait for them."—Add said with a straight face.

"I told you yesterday already, I don't need any help!"—Ara repeated the thing that she said yesterday to the 2. But only that isn't enough to stop them.

"Why is it that you lock yourself in the dojo? If you tell us your problem, maybe we can help."—Feuer tried to reassure the agitated girl. "It…it none of your business!"—and again, the girl pushed the 2 outside and locked the door. She leaned against the door and slowly dropped to the ground and started sobbing.

"Please…just…stop caring about me…even if it your mission…"

The 2 then returned to class. Add was too focused on the thing that Ara said so he didn't fall asleep for the whole day, which surprised the teacher, but it still make no difference as he didn't paid even the slightest of his mind to the subject.

School ended, the 2 left the school gate and walked to the Glitter Hunter restaurant while still thinking about what Ara said earlier.

"You felt it too right Feuer?"—Add asked.

"Yeah, Ara…she definitely was suffering something like we both used to…"—Feuer responded back.

Walking and talking and completely forgot about time and space, when the realized, they have already reached the Glitter Hunter restaurant. Putting all the thoughts aside, the 2 putted on their uniform and started working. That day, the number of customers were as great as always, even greater than usual. So the 2 have to work overtime. In the end, they missed the last train so they have to walk home. They were walking toward the Hope Bridge under the bright moonlight. The Add suddenly stopped.

"Gaaaah! The more I think about it, the more it bugging me."—Add said while scratching the back of his head.

"I never knew that you cared so much about Ara even though we just met her for the first time yesterday."—Feuer laughed, but Add immediately snapped the idea away.

"No, it not about that girl! If I failed any of the given requests, I'll have to be the servant of that little miss president longer!"—Add yelled with his head in his hands. "I don't want to imagine the life of being a dog to that girl! I'll settle this tomorrow for sure!"

Then Feuer saw something from the corner of his eye. He looked to the direction and saw someone at the edge of the bridge. He narrowed his eyes to look better, than he realized the familiar figure.

"Hey, isn't that Ara?"—Feuer asked while pointing at the direction he is facing. Add looked at the direction then nodded.

"Look like her, what is she doing here this late on the…edge…of a bridge?"—at those last words, the 2 knew what were going to happen. And just as they predicted, Ara jumped off from the edge of the bridge. Add quickly rushed toward and managed to grab her hand in time.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"—Add shouted after grabbing Ara hand.

"Let go of me! Just why did you 2 care so much about me? Even if it your mission?"—Ara asked while squirming.

"I said we can help you, but if you don't tell me what is your problem then how the heck do I suppose to help?"—Add yelled back while trying to pull the girl up despite her resistance.

"You cannot help me even if I tell you! I lost my family, okay? My mom and dad died because of illness, it was a big shock to me but my brother stayed by my side to help me get better. When I became a second year, he was caught in a car accident and died the following day. Now I got no family in this world left, why should I even live anymore?"—Ara shouted out everything that she had been hiding all this time and began to sob.

"_So she lost her important ones too huh? Just like me and Feuer…"_—Add thought to himself after hearing the girl confession.

"There, I told you my story, you happy?"—Ara asked, but in contrary to her expectation, Add continued to pull her up.

"Of course…I understand how you feel…"—Add said while gritting his teeth to pull the girl up. "No! You don't understand anything!"—Ara yelled back, but Add cut her off.

"OF COURSE I DO! I LOST MY FAMILY TOO! BUT I DO NOT CHOOSE THE WAY TO DIE, NO, I CHOSED TO LIVE! TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THEIR DEATH! IF A BASTARD LIKE ME COULD THEN YOU CAN TOO! SO STOP SQUIRMING SO I CAN PULL YOU UP!"—Add world startled Ara and caused her to stop crying. Suddenly, Add slipped his hand from the bridge balustrade and both of then fell down into the water below, but Feuer got there in time and caught Add hand.

"What took you so long?"—Add asked his savior. "You know that I cannot match your lightning speed."—Feuer laughed back. The Hope Bridge was very old, but thanks to the usual maintenance, it still stands until today, except for the balustrade. Cannont hold on any longer with the weight of 3 people, the balustrade started falling apart.

"Oh…crap."—was the only thing that Feuer managed to say before the 3 of them started falling down into the water. Recent days, it was very hot so the water level was very low, meaning a long and painful way down.

"What the heck did they spend all the money to maintenance the bridge for?"—Add yelled while falling down.

"Oh, dang it! Wish I have a camera right now!"—Feuer suddenly cursed.

"For what?"—Add asked back.

"So I can take some shots of your face expression right now! They are pure gold!"

"Seriously? We are falling a long and painful way down and you wanted to talk about that?"

"Yes I'm serious! Didn't I tell you that your face expression was on the top of my must-complete collection list?"

Add then hugged Ara tightly into his arm to shield her, which caused the girl cheek to tint pink. Finally, they landed into the water and created a loud splash. Luckily, the water level was low but still enough water to cushion their fall. They swam to the river side, Feuer than ignited a small fire to warm them up.

Add took off his jacket and putted it on Ara as her clothes were soaked and he could see almost everything inside.

"Like I said before, me and Feuer, we both also lost our parents. But we both decided to live to uncover the truth behind their death. If a bastard like me could than there is no reason that you can't. So stop being so damn pessimistic or I'm gonna burst my way into your dojo and drag you out of there again if I have to"—Add said while staring at Ara face.

"His word might be rude but he is kind-hearted."—Feuer teased which gained him a punch in the shoulder. After taking Ara back to her house, the 2 then walked back to their house with a big sigh of relief, but everything will be decided the following morning.

* * *

Next morning, the 2 got to class like any normal day. And the chair next to Add still empty.

"Guess she just can't get through it."—Feuer said with a slight disappointment in his tone, Add paid no mind as he stared out of the window. The the 2 heard some commotion going on outside the class.

"Wow, who is that girl?" / "She looks cute!" / "We have her in our class?"

The 2 turned at the classroom door as they saw a girl with black, long hair with 2 strings of white hair on and a big white bow tie behind her head, a black buttoned jacket, a bow tie and dark blue skirt walked into the class and toward them.

"Add-kun, Feuer-kun, thank you for yesterday. I had thought through about what you 2 said, and I'm sorry for causing you 2 so much trouble."—Add jaw dropped as he didn't know who was this unfamiliar lady that just talked to them.

"You are…Ara?"—he asked, still doubting.

"You look prettier when your hair not covering your face!"—Feuer complied and cause Ara cheek to turned slightly red.

"Um…because of all the things happened, I still haven't a clear introduction yet. I'm Ara, Ara Haan."—Ara said then bowed her head.

"I'm Feuer, Feuer Klugheit, nice to meet you, Ara-dono. And this guy over here that kicked your dojo door twice is Add."—Feuer introduced himself and Add.

"Nice to meet you, Add-kun, Feuer-kun."

And then, the series of trouble at the El Academy begin.

* * *

**Shiraga: **kinda long for the first chapter. anyway, reviews are always appreciate, but flamer keep out


	2. Chapter 2: Stolen Instruments

**Shiraga: **chapter 2 of El Academy. This time, there is a special character, who you asked? Ws airelinna fairy, why you asked again? because side character need more appreciation.

This chapter character class references:

Rena: Grand Archer

(*) at this part, play deemo mirror night for atmosphere

enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 2: Stolen Instruments**

* * *

3 days after helping Ara to overcome her trauma. Because she absented from the start of second year, so now she will have to take the classify test that every 2nd year students must take. Feuer was waiting in front of the test room, waiting for Ara. After a while, Ara came out with a sigh of relief.

"See? I told you it was nothing to worry about. So what is your type of magic?"—Feuer asked, Ara then showed him the info about her magic through her ID bracelet.

"Summoning huh? And A rank too! Not many students in El Academy posses summoning magic."—Feuer said.

"At first I thought mine was materialization, as I can only create fox claws. But then the scientist showed me a really scary image. I released my power much more than usual and I accidentally summoned her."—Ara said then from behind her legs, a small figure with white hair, nine white fox tails and 2 fox ears stepped out. "I called her Eun."

"Nice to meet you, Eun."—Feuer sat down then pulled out a small reed and waved it in front of Eun. The small fox then jumped up and down, trying to catch the reed.

"What about your and Add-kun magic?"—Ara asked. Feuer gave the reed to Eun then flicked his finger and ignited a small fire. "Mine is fire magic, A rank same as you. And Add-kun is electricity magic, A rank."

Meanwhile, in the East garden.

"Kuaaah!"—Add was covering his fists in electricity and beating down some rocks into smaller pieces.

"Okay, that should be enough for the garden decorating!"—the Tea Ceremony club pres said. Add was lying on the ground after smashing the last rock into smaller pieces.

"Can't believe…this kind of request…even exist…"—Add said while huffing for air. The pres gave Add a small cup of freshly make tea. Add took the cup, drank it up and left.

Add turned on the device to check on the list of request on his way back, then he met Feuer and Ara on his way.

"Add-kun!"—Ara waved at Add. "So, how is the Tea Ceremony club request?"-Feuer asked.

"I think I'm gonna die young if these kind of request keep coming."-Add said then the trio moved toward the next location. They walked for a while and reached the Music club.

"Sorry for intrusion."—Feuer said and slid the door open, then the 3 proceeded inside. No one was inside, but the air that the club gave off a solemn vibe, so solemn that even Add remained quiet, when normally he would scream people ear drums out to call for them.

"I'll go look for the client."—Feuer said then walked into a room nearby. Ara checked the variety of instruments in the room while Add walked toward a nearby room. There, he saw a piano near the window, the sunlight was shining on it silver strings. For a moment he thought he saw a woman with long silver hair like him was sitting on the chair, smiling at him. Add stared at the piano for a while then walked closer to it. He pressed a key to try it sound quality before taking the seat.

"_So…many memories…"_—he thought to himself then placed his fingers on the piano and started playing.

(*) Ara walked in and was astonished by the music. Add was completely different from usual, still the messy uniform, the messy silver hair, yet they way that he played the music turned him into a whole different person. Then the tune began to slow down, and finally ended.

"Such beautiful music."—a soft voice said along with sound of clapping. Add turned around to see 2 girls standing next to Feuer, both have long hair, but one with lime color while the other had a deeper green color.

"You are the client?"—Add asked.

"I'm Rena, the Music Club President. This is Alisa, the Vice President."—The girl with lime color hair introduced herself and her friend, with a gentle, tender voice, warm like the sun and soft like a flow of water.

"Hm! Those ears…the elf race?"—Add said after noticing Rena pointy ears.

"Ah yes, as you can see, we both are not human. Pres is from the elf race, and I myself is a fairy."—Alisa said.

Different from human race, which can only obtain the ability to use magic through certain method, the other races such as the Elf, Fairy, Demon, were all born with magic inside their body. Their main purpose to attend at the El Academy is mostly to learn about the human culture and to broaden their knowledge about other races as well.

"You both look so…pretty."—Ara said as the 2 girls truly have breath-taking beauty. "Why, thank you."

"Okay!"—Feuer clapped his hands together. "Now that we are done with the introduction, let move on to your request, Rena-senpai."—then they moved into the instrument storage.

"Recently, our instruments keep disappearing. At first, it was only a drum so we thought that some student borrowed it and forgot to return. But the next day was a pair of trumpets. Then it kept going on and on. We think that someone was stealing the instrument."—Rena said while they looked at the half empty storage.

"Why would someone do that?"—Ara asked.

"This school was built using the government money, so they got plenty to waste on many things. And if my information is right."-Feuer said then pulled out a small note book with leather cover and several bookmarks then flipped over some pages. "The instruments that they bought, all of them were usually used or favorite by famous musician in the past, so they must worth a lot."

"How much exactly?"—Add asked.

"Well, if you convert it into our daily unit, it would be…"—Feuer said then wrote some numbers down into his notebook, then showed to Add and Ara. The 2 dropped their jaws after seeing the giant number with a lot of zeroes.

"Just as you said, the instruments that were stolen truly cost a big fortune."—Alisa said full of worry.

"So why didn't you tell the police? If you report this to them, they can catch the thieves immediately."—Ara asked, but Rena shook her head.

"We already thought of that solution before. True, if we tell the police, they can catch the thieves. But then the instruments will be kept as evidences until the investigation and the thief trial is over. Until then, it would be too late because we must attend the El Harmony Inter-school music competition next week, and it only held once every 6 years. So please, I'm begging you, please retrieve back our instruments."—Rena said then both her and Alisa bowed their heads.

"But how the heck are we supposed to find those instruments now?"—Add asked, then he noticed a slight smirk on Feuer face. But Add knew Feuer more than anyone else, when he had that smirk on his face, someone definitely gonna get hurt, or even kill.

"Maybe this guy can tell us something helpful."—Feuer said then threw his pen into the wall near the windows. The pen pierced through the wall, and they heard someone voice screaming outside. They looked outside and saw another student was standing on the edge of the wall and a camera hanging around his neck, with the pen that Feuer threw before only 1 millimeter away from his face.

"A paparazzi huh?"—Add said after he tied and threw the guy into the corner.

Rena and Alisa were standing behind Add and Feuer while they checking for the paparazzi stuffs. His pocket, his camera, it was full of Rena and Alisa pictures. From their morning walk to school, their time in the music club, even when they change their clothes.

"Trash like you disgusts me."—Add said then crackled his knuckles and ready for a beat up until the paparazzi spit out the information he needs.

"Wait, Add-kun. Can you leave this guy to me?"—Feuer stopped Add and asked. Add was really itching to hit someone in the face, he turned around and about to decline.

"Please, **Add-kun**?"—Feuer asked again and emphasized Add name. Add noticed that his smirk from earlier had became a bit wider, with a more sadistic expression on his face. The smirk sent shiver down Add spine, so he just silently stepped back and let Feuer dragged the paparazzi into a private room.

"I'll be back in 5 minutes."—Feuer said.

"Heh, give me your best shot. I won't spit out a thing."—the paparazzi said full of confident. But he didn't know that the next 5 minutes will be the worst time of his life.

"Is that so? Then I'll give you my special treatment."—Feuer said then closed the door behind him.

"You guys might want to cover your ear."—Add said then cover his ears. The others did the same. Then from the room, sound of screaming and begging started to come out of it. If one listened closely, they can hear that there was a second voice, with a sadistic laugh.

5 minutes later, Feuer came out and closed the door immediately, so the others cannot see the state of the paparazzi after Feuer special treatment.

"What did you do to him?"—Ara asked, still shaking and hiding behind Add with Rena and Alisa.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Last time I got nightmare for a whole week after knowing what he did."—Add said while remembering the painful time that he had been through before.

"Well, I got some info from him. Because of stalking Rena-senpai and Alisa-dono for a very long time, he knew when there will be no one in the music club. He told the thieves when will be the best time to act for them to steal the instruments. In return, they will give him the pictures about Rena-senpai and Alisa-dono private time."—Feuer said and flipped to another page of his notebook.

"And until now, his information still proved to be true and trustworthy, so I listed down some suspects."—he wrote down something in his notebook and showed it to the rest.

"First suspect: Toma, second year. 13th generation of the 'Acetylene' family that run a famous steel company, the 'Acetylene'. Have an obsession with rare metal."

"Second suspect: Luichel, ex-student of the El Academy. Have a bad habit of stealing jewelry and shiny accessories. Got scolded several time, now running a small accessories shop down town."

"Third suspect: Speka, second year. Obsessed with dark magic. Among the 3, she is the one that doesn't seem to have a motive to steal the instruments. And according to the information from that paparazzi, the transaction usually takes place in an old warehouse, so he cannot see the face of the other one, but judging from the shadow figure, it seem to be a male. Which mean…"—Feuer spoke up his mind then pointed at Toma picture in his notebook.

"This guy, will be at the top of the list. But we cannot exclude the other out yet. We will keep an eye on all of them, mostly Toma. If one of them is the thief, that one will have to get back to where he hid his loot soon. When the time comes, we will catch him red hand."

Then the 3 left the Music Club to return to their class.

* * *

Later morning, it was Saturday so the 3 began tracking the first suspect, Luichel. They took the train to Elder and got to Luichel accessories shop. It was a small shop with big windows at the front, inside exhibiting a lot of accessories: necklace, bracelet, ring, earring, headband. Add opened the door and the 3 entered the shop. The bell on the door rang to tell the owner that there are customers. Then from the door behind the counter, a lady with orange hair, tied into 2 pig tails stepped out and smile at the 3.

"Welcome. Oh my~~~"—Luichel said then let out a small giggle at the 3.

"May I ask you guys something?"

"Sure, go on."—Feuer said, Luichel then giggled a bit more then asked.

"The 3 of you, which ones are a pair of love bird? Because most people come here to buy accessories for their lover~~~"

"Him and her."—Feuer answered immediately while Ara was still blushing a bit. Add heard Feuer answer and gave him a chop in the head.

"We are not here to buy lover accessories. We are here to ask you something. Are you the one who stole the El Academy Music Club instruments?"—Add spitted the question straight out of his mouth.

"We are here to investigate, Add-kun. What kind of investigator asks his suspect bluntly like that?"—Feuer laughed while rubbing the place where Add hit him.

Luichel eyes widened a bit, with a surprise look on her face, but soon changed back to her usual smile.

"So you guys are here to investigate about that huh? You 3 must be the funniest trio of investigator I had ever met, but sorry to disappoint you, I didn't steal anything. I gave up stealing since I opened this shop."

The 3 then left. They didn't get any new information, but Luichel gave each of them a small bracelet as gift, with a small piece of paper inside. "Come back soon if you want some useful information about the world of thieves."

"Well, now that one target down. Next target."—Add said then they took the train to Bethma. They followed the map in the data of the device that was given to Add. After a while, they reached a big door, with fence covering a big garden. The garden looked just like any normal garden that you can easily find in a rich family house. But only one strange detail, everything in the garden were made of metal instead of white limestone.

"This house sure is a bunch of metal-niac."—Add said after looking around the strange garden just to find metal everywhere.

"May I help you?"—the panel on the door asked. They looked into the screen and saw a maid asking them.

"We are looking for Toma-dono. We are from the Student Council."—Feuer replied quickly to avoid being suspected.

"I'm sorry, Toma-sama is currently out at the moment."—the maid said.

"Do you know where he went?"

"I do not know the specific location, but I heard him mention about a warehouse."

A light of hope then lit up inside the 3. They said goodbye to the maid and immediately leave to find Toma. They ran downtown, following the map along the Dragon Road because in Bethma, there was an abandoned warehouse block, name the Dragon Nest at the end of Dragon Road. When reaching the destination, they saw a male figure with red hair entering a warehouse.

They hid behind the wall to wait for the perfect time to catch Toma red hand. But when they peeped inside the warehouse, it was empty, with Toma standing in the middle of the empty space holding his head.

"Dang it! I came to the wrong place again!"

"Do you mind explaining what is going on here?"—Add stepped inside while looking around for any sight of the instruments.

"Who are you?"—Toma asked back.

"We were sent from the Student Council to find the Music Club lost instruments."

"So you are looking for them too?"

Toma then explained that he started searching for those instruments since 2 weeks ago. He searched everywhere that he could think of, but to no avail.

"My magic allowed me to hear and talk to metal. 2 weeks ago, when I was walking home, I heard a voice, like someone was calling for help. Then several days later, some of the Music Club instruments gone missing. I knew that the voice I heard before was the sound of the instruments. I asked them where they are, but all they managed to say were a warehouse. I tried again but they didn't reply. So I searched every warehouse, big and small in Bethma, and this is the final place."—Toma done with his explanation then stopped to catch his breath.

"Have you tried to look into the other warehouse?"—Ara asked because the warehouse where they were sitting is only one of the many warehouses of Dragon Nest.

"Not yet."—Toma said then they splitted out to search the other warehouse. In the end, still not even the slightest trace of the instruments, and it was already 6 o clock.

"So, only Speka left. But she is the one that is the last to be suspected, even if we missed some details, she must have some place big enough to hide those instruments."—Feuer said while flipping through his notebook and scratching his head.

"I'll contact you later if we have any new clue."—Add said then they separated to return home.

* * *

Sunday, Feuer spent the whole morning to find for another clue that can lead them out of this mess.

"Let see, Luichel-dono said that she gave up stealing things, but she could be lying…No, he expression back then didn't seem like she was lying. Not Toma-dono either. Speka is the only suspect left but what is her motive and where could she hide the instruments?"—Feuer was talking to himself while connecting the clue together.

Then Feuer felt something cold on his head. He looked up and saw a can of juice in Add hand.

"Relax a bit will ya?"—Add said then gave the can to Feuer.

"I don't think that possible."—Feuer laughed slightly and opened the can.

"That Speka girl is obsessed with black magic right? Maybe she was hiding those instruments in the abyss."—Add joked. Feuer laughed a bit at the joke, then something caught his mind, His eyes widened as he turned to Add and started shaking his shoulder.

"In the abyss…That it! You found the clue, Add-kun!"

"I….what?"

Feuer then turned on the holographic map in the device. But instead of checking the present map, he changed the date back to several years ago.

"If I remember right, the Dragon Nest belonged to the Richie Inc, and was only built in recent year. So that means, there have to be a place that they used as storage before the Dragon Nest."—Feuer explained while changing the date on the map. When reaching the right date, the map showed a warehouse sector, similar to the Dragon Nest but it resided deeper inside, the name showing on the screen was Dragon Nest Abyss.

"Just as I thought."—then the 2 immediately rushed out of the house. Add contacted Ara while Feuer contacted Toma.

"You there, Ara? We found the place. Come to the Dragon Nest, I'll explain later."

They took the train to Bethma then ran toward the Dragon Nest. Ara and Toma then arrived just in time.

"Have you found any new clue?"—Toma asked.

"Yes, there seemed to be an even older warehouse sector deeper inside. And that must be the place where the instruments were being kept."—Feuer said then they proceeded deeper. Passing the abandoned, yet newer warehouse block, they reached the older sector, the Dragon Nest Abyss. Add opened the door into the warehouse, and just as they expected, all the instruments were inside.

"Hmm? Some little rats managed to sneak in here?"—they heard a voice from above. Add release an electric shock to light up the light bulb. It was a girl with purple hair.

"Why did you steal all these instruments?"—Toma asked the girl.

"How rude of you to ask someone when you haven't introduced yourself first. I'm Speka, and I have no obligation to tell you my purpose."—Speka mocked back.

"You wanted to steal the Dark Steel, don't you?"—Feuer question startled Speka.

"How did you know about that?"

"In the list of the stolen instruments, one of them was made from the Dark Steel. You just didn't know which one was it so that is why you have to steal many of them. The Dark Steel, said to hold a large amount of dark magic, and you is the one that obsessed with black magic and stuff like that."—Feuer explained.

"You are a smart little rat, aren't you? But it doesn't matter anymore."—Speka said then flicked her finger. From the second floor, several more students appeared, with weapon in their hand.

"They all are just a bunch of paparazzi that I bribed with some private time pictures of those girls in the Music Club."

"Crap, we are surrounded."—Toma said while looking around and trying to count their number. Add was trembling after seeing that they were outnumbered.

"Look like one of your rat friend is scared."—Speka mocked.

"Feuer…"—Add said with a shaking tone. "Do you mind if I take on all of them by myself?"

"Sure."—right when Feuer completed his sentence, Add clenched his fists and immediately rushed to the second floor.

"I'M COMING FOR YOUR BOOTIES!"—Add was screaming with joy while taking down the paparazzi one by one and threw them across the handrail, down to the ground.

"Peekaboo. Mind Break!"—while Speka was still confusing, Add was already done with dealing the bunch of paparazzi and appeared behind her. He grabbed her head and gave her an electric shock, which knocked the girl out instantly.

"Kehahahahahahaha! Now that sure is a good way to deal with stress!"—Add laughed while sitting on the pile of beaten up paparazzi. Feuer was searching something in the pile of instruments. After a while, he picked up a trumpet.

"So this is the thing that Speka was looking for?"—Ara asked while staring at the trumpet.

"This trumpet was used by a famous musician, Dullahan. When he got rejected, he wanted to suicide by beheading himself. But…it didn't work out very well. Because he was a demon so he can still live without his head. So he used the metal from his head called the Dark Steel to create this trumpet. His last song with this trumpet was the 'Dark Impale'. After finishing the song, he died the following day with a broken heart."—Feuer said with sigh. Then they called the police to come and catch these paparazzi after leaving a note telling what happened. Add found a lot more pictures of Rena and Alisa private time in Speka pocket. Feuer took the pictures and burned it into ashes.

* * *

Monday came, Rena and Alisa were being extremely worried as they El Harmony was about to start soon, and the instruments were still missing. Then they heard someone knocking on the door. Rena opened the door and saw Feuer, Add, Ara and Toma holding the instruments. Thank to them, the Music Club was able to anticipate the El Harmony. Everything went smoothly and finally, they won the first prize. After the award ceremony, Add, Feuer, Ara, Toma and Rena and Alisa returned the instruments to their rightful place, the Music Club.

"I cannot thank you all enough. If it weren't all of you, we would have missed our only chance in life to deliver our best performance."—Rena and Alisa bowed their head again.

"Really, you don't have to."—Feuer said while waving his hand.

"But there must be some way we can thank you for all you did for us."—Alisa asked.

"How about a song? I wanted to hear the voice of El Academy 'White Lilies'."—Feuer asked, the 2 girl then nodded in agree.

"Give me the tune."—Add said then sat down on the chair of the piano. Rena putted a music sheet in front of Add. He examined the note for a while then gave a thumb up. The 2 girls then cleared their throat and began to sing while Add played the piano.

The song was filled with the sound of nature. Soft, gentle and can warmed up even a frozen heart, healed even the soul of a sinner. Add, Feuer, Ara and Toma closed their eyes to enjoy the song, and for a moment, they thought that they were in the middle of a beautiful, peaceful forest, with 2 goddesses singing for them.


	3. Chapter 3: Troublesome transfer student

**Shiraga: **sorry for the little late update guys, jsut got my TTr on DE, too busy making salt in PvP and lvl grinding. anyway, this chapter reference is

Elesis: Crimson Avenger

enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 3: Troublesome transfer student**

* * *

"Add-kun, wake up. Morning already."—Feuer walked into Add room to walk him up. The room was extremely messy, as if Add hadn't clean for ages.

"Mmm…five more minutes."—Add grumbled back then curled into his blanket even more. Feuer opened the curtain and used all his might to pulled Add blanket out. The silver hair boy fell on the ground, the sunlight shone right into his magenta pupils.

"Gaahh! My eyes! They burn!"—Add rolled on the floor while covering his eyes.

"Really? Where?"—Feuer said then pulled Add hands out of the way and readied camera mode on his phone. But he was disappointed.

"They are not burning at all."

"Just…GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM ALREADY!"—Add said while throwing random stuff that his hand could reach and threw at Feuer. He swiftly dodged all of them and exited the room to prepare breakfast. 5 minutes later, Add had done changing clothe and walked down stair for breakfast. Add ate his breakfast in half-sleep state, he was too sleepy that he even forgot to brush his hair, not like his hair was any tidy in the first place. The 2 finished their breakfast, cleaned up the dishes then left the house.

-El Academy, class C—

"Feuer-kun! Morning!"—Ara waved at Feuer while entering the class and walked toward her seat, next to Add seat.

"Morning, Ara-dono."—Feuer greeted back.

"Hm? Where is Add-kun?"—Ara titled her head to the a side while trying to look for Add. Feuer turned around and facepalmed with a laugh.

"Just got my eyes off from him for a second and he is already gone. Write down, write down: Add-kun new class escape record, 0,05 second."—Feuer said then flipped open his notebook and wrote down some number. Then Hagus, the teacher came in so everyone returned to their seat.

"Morning everyone. Today we have a new transfer student."—Hagus said. The students then started with several discussions.

"I hope it a girl, and hot." / "Please, let it be a guy." / "Let hope we don't get a hideyoshi."

"Okay, be quiet class. You may come in now."—Hagus said then turned at the door. 5 minutes passed, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, the door still closed.

"Sorry everyone, just…just give me a minute."—he said then looked outside of the door to look for the trace of the transfer student, but to no avail.

"Ahh…I was warned that this student was a bit special but I didn't know that it was this much."—Hagus said while scratching his head.

"Aisha-san, I'll be gone for a while so you are in charge."—Hagus told Aisha, the class president then walked off.

"Wonder where did Add-kun disappear to?"—Ara asked. Feuer licked his finger then pointed outside of the window. Then he pulled his finger back inside and smiled.

"The sun is shining brightly and it not very hot today. He must be on the roof."

And just as Feuer predicted. On the roof, Add was climbing up the stair leading to the roof, his favorite hiding spot in day like today.

"Tch, just because of Feuer, I didn't get enough sleep at all. Now I'll sleep like there is no tomorrow to make up for this morning."—Add yawned then stepping on the next step of the stair. He popped his head up and was surprised by what he saw.

"Black…"—was all that he could say before falling on the floor. He was lying on the floor, staring at the sky while still shocking of what he just saw. He sat back up and shook his head a few times.

"Must be my imagination. There is no freaking way that a girl is taking my favorite sleeping spot."—he said to himself then climbed up the stair again. This time, with more caution, he popped his head up slowly, and what appeared before his eyes was still the black thing that he saw several minutes ago, a black panty.

"Okay, definitely not my imagination."—Add slowly stepped onto the roof. In his favorite sleeping spot, was a girl with long crimson hair, one of her hand was covering her eyes to block away the sunlight. She wore the El Academy uniform with black high socks, her bow tie was left in a messy manner. Add examined the girl for a bit more then cleared his throat.

"Um…hey, you."—he said. The girl lifted her hand of form her face and looked to the side.

"That spot is personal property."—Add pointed at the spot where the girl was lying. Paying no mind to what the silver hair just said, the girl turned to the side, completely ignoring Add existence.

"Oi oi oi, you are really getting on my nerve now."—Add was angered by the girl act. His left eye started to glow brighter and purple electricity started building up around his body.

"You…are too annoying…"—the girl word filled the last drop of the full cup.

"That's it! Even if you return me my spot now, I won't let you get away without a beat up!"—he said then threw a punch at the girl. She quickly dodged it and returned him with a kick. Add dodged the kick and threw a jab from his free hand coating in electricity, the girl also threw a punch at him with her hand covering in blood. The 2 attacks collided and created an explosion. The 2 were pushed back by the explosion but they both regained their balance quickly. They took a few steps backward and stared at their opponent face to face.

"You are really strong. None of those that I met before could hold off against me this long."—Add smirked while his magenta eyes stared at the girl. Now that the smoke had died down, he could see the girl face more clearly. He eyes were red like her hair but with a bit of yellow, but they were soulless.

"You really got some skill. No more holding back then."—Add said as he covering his body in electricity. The girl did the same by covering her legs and arms with armors from materialized blood. The 2 stopped their breathing for a second, their heart skipped a beat, the air turned completely silent, to the point that they could even hear the sound of their heart. Then the 2 rushed at each other again and threw punch at the opponent. Add electricity meet the girl blood armor, the 2 attacks countered each other and caused another explosion.

"Rush Twirl!" / "Dark Wave!"

The 2 kept fighting. None of them could lay even a single hit on their opponent because they both countered the opposite attack with their. None of them showing any sign of giving up, and strangely, they both have a large smile on their lips while fighting.

3 hours later, the 2 have used to their last bit of energy. Now all they could do were launching one last attack.

"Quicksilver Accel…"—Add rushed toward the girl with an electrical orb in his palm, but his feet have given up and he fell to the ground.

"Assault Strike…"—the girl rushed toward with blood covering her palm. Same as Add, she was too tired to aim the attack to it target and fell on the ground, right next to Add. The 2 painted to catch their breath. After catching their breath, they both laughed while looking at the blue sky. Then Add turned his head to face the girl.

"That was the best match I ever had. What is your name?"—Add asked. The girl stopped laughing and turned to Add side.

"…El…Elesis…"

"Elesis huh? You are really strong, let fight again sometime."—Add said then stood up. Feuer then appeared from behind the door with Ara.

"So this is where you been…"—he stopped for a while after seeing the chaotic state of the roof. Then he realized that Add and Elesis were the only 2 person at the scene, Elesis was panting a bit and her uniform was torn at some part during the match. Feuer looked at Add then smirked.

"Did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Well, you know…when a boy and a girl are alone together, this and that happens."

Add was still confused by Feuer question. Then he saw that Ara was blushing and covering her cherry red face, he immediately understand what Feuer meant.

"I DID NOTHING!"—he shouted then threw a kick at Feuer, but missed because he hadn't recovered completely from the fight yet.

"Add-kun…you…you are so bold…"

"Ara, don't get the wrong idea!"—Add tried to explain to Ara, but he didn't use any honorific and caused the girl to blush even more.

"Oh dear, I think I smell love in the air, Add-kun!"—Feuer whistled while dodging Add fist. Then he turned to Elesis and noticed that the girl skin had turned pale and was shaking.

"Blood loss."—his tone changed serious after he examined the girl symptoms. Then they carried Elesis to the infirmary. After the blood transfusion, Elesis slowly regain her conscious and woke up.

"That was a close one."—Add said while wiping his sweat away.

"You are the new transfer student to our class, Elesis-dono right? Nice to meet you, I'm Feuer Klugheit, that one is Add and this is Ara Haan."—Feuer introduced himself and the other 2 to Elesis.

"Are you feeling better yet, Elesis-san?"—Ara asked. Elesis then nodded back.

"Your power is blood control. But you can only uses the existing source which is your own blood, not create them. You better be more careful next time."—Add said while looking at the profile about Elesis that Feuer handled him earlier.

"I think I know exactly the best way to help you."—Feuer flicked his finger. Lunch break came as the bell sounded. They all moved into the school garden and sat down under a tree. Feuer opened the clothe warping many square boxes inside. All the boxes were filled with neatly decorated, mouth-watering food.

"Feuer-kun, you made all of these?"—Ara asked, still staring at the masterpiece in the box in her hand.

"It took me a whole morning thought. If it wasn't for Add-kun who woke up late, I would have been able to make it look better."—Feuer said while hitting his elbow to Add arm.

"Why care much about the details? They all are gonna go into your stomach in the end anyway."—Add said while shoving the food in his box in his mouth. Elesis stared at her box for a while then took a bite.

"It…delicious…"—still with her soulless emotion, but her eyes lightened up a bit.

"It really is!"

They ate the bento that Feuer made while chatting with each other. Afterward, they showed Elesis around the school. Time quickly passed and it already noon. School ended, they said goodbye to each other then left. Ara returned to her home, Add and Feuer walked to Glitter Hunter, Elesis took the opposite way back to her home.

Elesis opened the door and walked inside. She threw herself on her bed and turned on her phone.

"Hey onee-chan, how your day at school today?"—a male voice asked from the other side of the line.

"I…absented from class…in the first day…"—Elesis replied back.

"Again? Look here one-chan, I know that because of your power, you are always tired. But you just can't keep absent from class like this."

"But…because I absented from class today…I managed to meet those 3…to meet him…a strong person that didn't run away after seeing my power…we both dueled and destroyed almost the whole roof…"—Elesis said while a small smile blooming on her face.

"Onee-chan, I'm happy that you made friend on the first day, but almost destroying the whole roof? I'm almost done with dealing with things here. I'll come to your place after 2 months from now on. Well, sleep soon."—the other voice said then turned off his phone. Elesis turned around to face the ceiling.

"Maybe…school wasn't too bad after all…"

* * *

-Later morning—

"Morning Elesis-san."

"Morning, Elesis-dono."

"Morning."

Elesis walked into the class and nodded back in reply. Her seat was in front of Ara. She took her seat as Hagus entered the class. All the students then returned to their seat.

"Good morning everyone. I'm sure that you all have known about our transfer student. If you haven't well there is still plenty of time to make friend. And Elesis-san, next time don't disappear like that okay?"—Hagus asked. Elesis then nodded back without a word. Hagus just smiled and started the lesson. And just like every day, Add fell asleep after 5 minutes.

Then it science class, the only class in the whole semester that Add will never fall asleep during class.

"Are you having trouble? Ara-dono? Elesis-dono?"—Feuer asked after seeing that the 2 girls were having difficulty in putting the mechanical parts into right place according to the blueprint that Adel, their science teacher and is from the Ponggo race gave them.

"Ah yes, I don't quite understand this part yet."—Ara said then pointed at the blueprint, Elesis nodded to confirm.

"This part? You just need to turn this and then this and…done."—Feuer explained to the 2 girls. And they succeeded in completing the machine.

"Wow, you are fast, Feuer-kun!"

"Actually, Add-kun was the one who taught me all of these."—then they looked to Add side. He was putting all the mechanical parts into place at light speed. But the thing that he was building was completely different from the blueprint.

"Add-kun, what is that device?"—Ara asked after Add putted the last part into the device.

"Watch."—he said then threw the device into the ground. From a small cube, the device became a portal with an electrical orb in the middle.

"Phase Shift!"—Add shouted then the device and himself switched place.

"Cool right? With this, I can get away easily when being caught by those teachers and supervisors. Too bad it can only stay there for 9 seconds."—Add sighed as the device exploded.

"Add-san, I appreciated that you never fall asleep during our class, Pong. But please stop making weird device like that, we still haven't managed to get rid of all the weird things that you created earlier, Pong."—Amos, Adel assistance said while pointing at the storage full of weird devices. After class, the 4 then got to the changing room to prepare for PE class.

"Okay, students, take your mark, get set, GO!"—Camilla, the PE teacher said then shot the signal from the gun in her hand. The students then left the starting line and started running.

"Camilla-sensei is always energetic. Unlike a certain someone."—Feuer said then looked forward. Add was taking the lead. The only thing is he was running while sleeping, and still managed to take the lead. On the girl side, they were having a dodge ball match. Ara side was wining because every time Ara strikes the ball, the opponent saw 3 balls instead of one. Then a girl on the opponent team got the ball and readied for a counter attack. She leaped into the air and strike the ball down.

"Elesis-san! Look out!"—the ball was coming straight at Elesis. Got surprised, Elesis release a blood blast at the ball and destroyed instantly, unfortunately the blast flew at the ceiling and some girls were hit by the debris. They all stared at Elesis in shock. Realizing about what she just did, Elesis ran off. In the end, Elesis absented from class for the rest of the day.

"Elesis, I know you are up there."—Add shouted. Elesis was lying on the roof where she and Add first met. The girl hopped down and not saying a word.

"I heard from Ara about what happened during the PE class."

"…You must be…disgusting about me now right? I hurt those girls…"

"But you didn't mean it right? It all was an accident."—Elesis expression brightened up a bit. Same thing used to happen in the past, but when she tried to defense herself, none believed her. Her brother was the only one that believed her, and now Add was the second one.

"Come one. Cheer up. Everything will be fine, so don't worry about it too much okay?"—Add said while patting Elesis back.

"Add-kun! Elesis-san!"—Ara waved at the 2. She and Feuer were waiting at the school gate.

"You still look a little bit down, Elesis-dono. Well, today we don't have to work because Ann-san went on a vacation, she just texted me with a message. She will be back in a week. So to cheer you up, tonight I'm going to make a special feast. Add-kun and Elesis-dono get back home first. Ara-dono, can you help me with the grocery?"

Then they separated into 2 groups. Add and Elesis walked back to his house while Feuer and Ara do the grocery.

"_So this…is his house…"_—Elesis said while taking off her shoes. They walked pass the hallway and entered the living room.

"I'll go and prepare the dishes. You wait here a bit okay?"—Add said then moved into the kitchen to get some dishes and spoons. Elesis sat down on the sofa and hugged a pillow while still looking around the house.

"_To think of it…this is the first time I'm in a boy house…is this what they called in the book...c…coupl…"_—the girl cheek tinted slightly pink as she thought about the word. She shook her head a few time to shake off the thought. Then Feuer and Ara returned with the ingredients.

"Okay, let get cooking. Add-kun gives me a hand."—Add and Feuer walked into the kitchen to prepare the food while Ara and Elesis waiting in the living room.

"What was your school like before transferring, Elesis-san?"—Ara asked after 5 minutes of awkward silent.

"…It just like…any normal school…me and my little brother study there…I had friends…but after an incident…I lost everything…"—Elesis tone saddened at the last part, as it reminded her about many bad memories. Then Feuer and Add came in with dinner and broke the atmosphere.

"Dinner is served!"

That night, they talked a lot with each other until late. Thanks to the conversation, the food and the warm atmosphere, Elesis expression had softened a bit, no longer a soulless face.

* * *

The next morning, when the 4 met each other at the school gate, they saw a strange car with several men in black suit and sunglasses stepped out form it. One of them was talking to the Student Council President, Eve and some scientists.

"I don't think I had seen them before."—Ara said while looking at the group of strange looking men.

"If they are talking to that missy president, then no good ever come from them."—Add grunted, still holding a grudge toward Eve after the event that he will never forget.

"They are talking to the scientists as well, look like they are from the higher level."—Feuer said as he noticed the men who was talking with the scientist was holding a document. Elesis was shaking after seeing the man. It seemed like she was being extremely frightened. Then a man noticed her and walked toward the group.

"You are Elesis right? Good, now come with us."—the man said but without waiting for the girl to respond, he grabbed her hand and walked away. Elesis tried to resist but the man tightened his grip and hurt the girl.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"—Add said as he grab the man arm and almost crushed his bone, his face now full of murderous intention.

"Who are you? Do not interfere with our work."—he said while holding his arm to ease the pain. The other man then approached in front of Add.

"Heh, so you want to play huh? Good timing."—Add smirked as he crackled his knuckles and started building up electricity.

"Stop it."—Add turned around to see that Elesis was pulling his jacket.

"Just wait Elesis, I'll deal with these guys fast."

"STOP IT, PLEASE!"

She yelled at him. Add, both Feuer and Ara didn't understand why she did that. Elesis then walked toward the men and turned back.

"My power will soon go out of control again. Because of that…I hurt my friends back at my old school. So as soon as I leave, you all will never be hurt because of me."—Elesis said as a tear slid down her cheek.

"We only know each other for a short time…but I had the most wonderful time of my life…those memories…I'll always treasure them…"—she finished her sentence, then walked off. Add, Feuer and Ara were all too shocked and couldn't think of a way to respond.

"OI EVE!"—Add kicked the door to the student council room open and rushed inside.

"How can I help you?"—Eve asked with her monotone while sipping her tea.

"Where are they taking her?"

"Why do you need to know that information?"

"If you don't spit it out then I'll have to beat some sense into you."—Add said as he clenched his fist and about to strike. Then he felt something cold pointing from under his chin. He looked down and saw Chung was crouching while pointing a silver gun at his head.

"Take one more step and I'll put a bullet in your head."—the blondie said with a cold voice and emotionless face.

"Do it if you dare to pretty boy. Let see my fist and your gun, which on is faster?"—Add glared dagger at Chung. Chung looked to his left and saw Add palm coating in electricity was already near his head and readied to crush it anytime.

"Chung, that enough."—Eve ordered. Chung then leaped away from Add and putted away his gun.

"Leave it Add-kun."—Feuer rushed in and held Add back.

"I cannot tell you where they will be taking her. But they will leave El Academy tonight with her."

"Thank you, that is all the info that we need."—Feuer said then dragged Add out of the room, despite his resistance.

"Why did you do that for?"—Add shouted at Feuer while they are on the roof.

"It not very wise to mess with the Student Council, Add-kun. If you mess with them, you will be kicked out of school the next day, no exception."

"So you are telling me to just let them take Elesis away?"

"Who said anything about letting them take Elesis-dono away?"—Add and Ara now both have a big question mark on their faces. Feuer took the device in Add pocket out and turned the map on.

"She said that they will leave tonight. And they are not like any normal guess that visit El Academy usually so they won't be using the school underground garage."

"Wait this school had an underground garage?"—Add was confused as he was wondering just how big is El Academy.

"So one possibility down. They cannot use the front gate either as it will attract attention. So there is only one place left to go."—Feuer said as he pointed at the side of the school.

"The East Gate. This gate is specially uses when having special guess like school inspector. It led to a small alley so it will attract less attention. They will definitely use this gate. And here is the plan."

* * *

Night came. Using the dark night as a cover, 3 figures sneaked into the El Academy and swiftly ran toward the Martial Art club dojo. They picked up a bag pack and splitted the things inside into 3 groups.

"Okay, you both remembered the plan right?"—Feuer asked while the other 2 nodded back.

"_First, Ara-dono will create a diversion when their car about to leave. I'll beat those guys in the car down and Add-kun will take care of Elesis-dono. We will use the device that Add-kun created earlier to escape. Since it can only last for 9 seconds, we will place the devices here in the dojo. The wall is pretty tall so it can buy us some time. Because the duration of these devices is very short so we will have to act fast."_

They climbed on the wall and waited for the car. Just as expected, 2 cars were leaving from the East gate. They placed 3 devices down and leaped over the wall. Ara threw a small cube at the cars. The cube emitted an electromagnetic shock and paralyzed the first car and those inside. When those in the car behind still confused, Feuer swiftly sneaked inside and broke their neck.

"Let go Elesis. We are taking you out of here."—Add said while reaching his hand out to Elesis. But she hesitated. Then those that were paralyzed earlier in the first car started to recover from it.

"Add-kun, we are running out of time!"—Feuer shouted.

"Dang it! Sorry Elesis."—Add said then picked Elesis up bridal style and carried her out of the car.

"Feuer, Ara, we are getting out of here. Phase Shift!"—Add then teleported back into the dojo with Elesis. Ara and Feuer came along afterward. They started heading toward the school front gate. But the other guys were one step faster. They have already blocked their only way of escape.

"Tch, we are surrounded. Elesis, stay behind us. We will burst a way out of here."

"I told you to stop! The longer I stay with you guys, I'll eventually hurt you! I already hurt a lot of friends back at my old school. Because of that, I lost all my friends. If I hurt even you guys, I can never forgive myself. So please…"—Elesis shouted and started shedding tears.

"…Just leave me…and run…while you still can…"

Then an image of a woman with white hair came to Add mind. She was covered in blood, and was reaching her hand toward him.

"_Just…leave me Add…run..I'll be okay…"_

"_Tch, not this scenery again!"_—Add gritted his teeth then clenched his fist and gave Elesis a knock in the head.

"Stop spitting nonsense already. You keep saying that just leave you. But back then when you walked away, those eyes of your told something completely different. It said you wanted to stay with us, wanted to be friend with us, and wanted to come and rescue you. So stop lying to yourself and shut up. Even if you tell me one thousand times, ten trillion times, I'll keep beating these guy down and burst a way out of here with you, whether you like it or not!"—Add gave Elesis a long scold then turned around and titled his head to the side to crack his neck.

"You 2 ready?"

"Ready."—Ara said as she readied her wooden spear that she picked up earlier.

"I got your back."—Feuer smiled.

Then the 3 rushed at the group of men in front of them. Because they all were trained to deal with special case like the student of El Academy, their suits were specially made to weaken any effect from the student magic. Add electricity did little effect to them, but he still got his fist. Feuer cannot use his fire freely, but he knew the weak spots on their body so he aimed for those places and paralyzed them. Then a man caught Ara off guard and rushed at her from behind, but he was knocked away by a blood blast.

Elesis stood up beside Ara and started fighting with the men. Their attacks didn't have much effect and they were outnumbered. They soon felt tired but there are still too many men still standing. Add then pushed Feeuer back to Elesis and Ara.

"Feuer! Bring up a fire barrier and do not open it at all cost!"—Add shouted then Feuer immediately do as he said. Feuer brought up a fire barrier around them while Add putted another electric barrier outside.

"Your suit might be special, but I'm sure they cannot withstand 2 magic at the same time."—Add smirked while kneeling and panting. A man then grabbed his hair and lifted his head up.

"Then we will beat you until that barrier is down."—he threw a punch at Add face. Feuer was about to rush out to help but Add stopped him.

"Do not come out Feuer. If they lay their hand on Elesis, I'll never forgive you."—he shouted then turned back to the man.

"Is that all you got? Even a phoru can punch harder than you."—he mocked the man and earned him another punch. Several more punches landed on his face, Feuer really wanted to get out and help, but if he do so, the barrier will break. So he had no choice but to stay still.

"And I expected a lot more from a bunch of muscular like you."—Add said then spitted some blood out from his mouth. When the man was about to give him another punch, a voice stopped him.

"What do you think you are doing?"

They looked to where the voice came from and saw a girl with silver hair and a boy with blond hair walking beside her.

"Stay out of this Student Council President."

"I suggest you to leave."

"We will leave as soon as we got the girl."

"Are you sure that it was her?"

"Of course we are! Red hair, power to control blood, it definitely her!"

"You sure is confident about that. Chung."—Eve snapped her finger. Chung nodded then proceeded forward and gave the profile document to the man.

"The one that you been looking for is indeed red hair. But it was a boy with long red hair and the power is control water, not blood. The reason of the red color is because he is a yankee and he love playing prank in the school."—Eve said as the man flipped the page in the profile to check the information again. When they looked again closely, it was indeed a boy, not a girl and the power part is control water, not blood.

"I'll take that as our mistake. But we will take these 3 with us. They interfered with our work and must face their consequences."—the man said as he pointed at Add, Ara and Feuer.

"If that is the case, I wonder what will happened if this got into the hand of the press?"—Eve asked as Chung turned on a projector. It recorded everything since the man started landing punches on Add face.

"A band of men gang banged against a single student. Not a bad title right?"—the men knew that they didn't stand a chance against the Student Council President in her own territory, especially when she still have the record with her. They let go of Add and left. Feuer brought down the barrier and rushed at Add to check on his state.

"That was very reckless, Add-kun."—he said as he put some bandages on Add wound.

"Yeah, you almost gave us a heart attack, Add-kun."

"Shut up."

Then Elesis gave him across the face, right on the part where he felt most pain.

"What was that for?"—Add shouted at the girl as she started crying.

"I wanted you to be my friend…I wanted to stay with you guys…I wanted you to come and rescue me…but I never asked for you to sacrifice this much for me…I lost too many friends…I don't want to be alone again…so please…never do it again…"—Elesis cried as she pulled on Add shirt. The silver hair boy still trying to find a way to respond, then Ara hugged Elesis tightly in her arm.

"Don't worry, Elesis-san. You have us now, you are not alone anymore. We will never elave you no matter what."—then she gave a glance at Add. The boy sighed then apologized.

"I'm sorry, I won't do that again."—Elesis smiled back then began crying in Ara arm.

* * *

Later morning, the 4 came to school like all the things last night never happened. Add face was full of bandages and bruise, but everyone didn't suspect even the slightest as they thought that he just caught in another fight with some yankee.

"Morning, Add-kun. How is your wound?"

"It ached all night and I can't even sleep a bit. I think I'll find somewhere else to chill."—Add grunted then walked toward the door. Then he felt someone was pulling him back. He turned around and saw Elesis was pulling his shirt.

"…Don't…go…"—she was using the puppy eyes with Add. Add tried to resist but fail miserably.

"Maybe the table is enough for me to chill today."—he sighed and returned to his seat. The teacher came in and started the lesson. Add fell asleep after 5 minutes like usual. Then Elesis threw 3 small pieces of paper to Feuer, Ara and Add.

"_Thank you for becoming my friends."_

Feuer and Ara smiled and threw back 2 small pieces. Add raised a thumb up at Elesis while sleeping.

"_Nice to be your friend too, Elesis-dono."_

"_Let help each other out, Elesis-san."_


	4. Chapter 4: Student Council rival

**Shiraga: **hey guys, sorry for kinda short chapter, been sick since yesterday so cannot focus much. anyway this chapter references:

Lu: base job (will change later)

Ciel: Royal Guard (he doesn't have his gunblades yet, just the firearm)

Raven: Blade Master

enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 4: Student Council rival**

* * *

It was another normal day at the El Academy, sun shone brightly, students walking to school while chatting with their friends, teacher preparing for classes. Nothing unusual, or was it too soon to say so?

"STOP RIGHT THERE YOU!"—a loud voice broke the normal, peaceful atmosphere. Yup, to soon to say that nothing is unusual.

"Add-kun! On your left!"

"Gotcha!"

Add, Feuer and Ara were running around the school South garden, trying to capture the runaway phorus. Elesis was too lazy so she just sat by the sideline and watch.

"Seriously thought, what the heck did they spend all the money for?"—Add asked after putting the last wooden board on the phorus cage to cover the hole.

"I'll go get some drink."—Feuer said then walked toward the nearby vending machine. He looked at the selection of drink and started pushing the button.

"Let see, coffee for Add, tomato juice for Elesis-dono, herbal tea for Ara-dono…hm?"—then he noticed a familiar figure with long white hair was approaching, another familiar one with blond hair was behind her.

"You are Feuer Klugheit right?"—Eve asked.

"Yes, I am. And you are Eve-dono?"—Feuer asked back while holding the cans of drink.

"From a friend of the school most famous yankee, you are completely opposite from him."—Eve said after examined Feuer attitude and clothes.

"Guess I'll take that as a compliment then."—he laughed back.

"But I'm sure that you are not here just for some chit chat right?"—his voice grew firmer.

"Yes. When you 3 were on your so call rescue mission. Those men were forced to leave because they got the wrong object. But when I investigated further into that document file, it was hacked, all the data about that girl was overwritten. It true that we have a student that look identical to her, but how did you know all those information? Or should I ask, were you the one who hacked into it?"—Eve asked while her golden eyes stared into Feuer grey pupils.

"Well, I can't say that I did it all by myself."—Feuer said while scratching his head. "Add-kun taught me everything about mechanical, hacking and stuff. I got my own information network and way to obtaining information. I know every corner of this school, except for the chamber with the Elnigma, but guess I'll try to sneak in when I got the chance, and I'll send you some picture of it."—Feuer said then turned around and about to walk away, then he looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, one more thing. If you, or even this whole school and those behind it, have any intention to harm my friends, I'll not hesitate to set it all on fire."—he let out a small smile, but it sent shiver down Chung spine. He was about to take out his gun, but Eve raised her hand to stop him.

"Oi, Feuer! What taking so long?"—Add asked from afar. He decided to search for Feuer because he took too long just to get some drink.

"Sorry! I'm coming!"—Feuer replied back then walked toward them.

"_Feuer Klugheit…a dangerous target…"_—Eve thought to herself, but her train of thought was interrupted as Chung noticed a crack in the wall, then an explosion occurred. Chung carried Eve away from the explosion and swiftly dodged several incoming bullets.

"Eve! Give me your chair!"—appeared from the smoke was a small girl with white hair and a male with dark blue short hair.

"I see that you have returned, Luciela R Sourscream."

"Enough talking! We will settle our duel once and for all! Ciel, get rid of her servant!"—Lu, the small girl ordered her servant named Ciel.

"As you wish, Lu-sama."—Ciel nodded back then summoned a cross-shaped fire arm and rapidly fired at Eve.

"Chung, deal with him."—Eve ordered, Chung then summoned his dual pistols, took aim and shot precisely at the bullets that Ciel shot.

"Prey Chaser!" / "Particle Ray."

Eve shot an energy beam at Lu while Lu charged forward with her claw and blocked the energy beam.

"Oblique of Marbas!" / "Sharpshooter Syndrome!"

Ciel shot massive barrage of bullet at Chung, Chung countered back by pointing his pistol into the air and released a silver aura around him that knocked back all of Ciel bullets. The battle went on for a while, then the supervisors showed up.

"Those party crasher again. We are not over yet, Eve. Next time I'll have your chair for sure!"—Lu said then fled with Ciel. The supervisors have seen too many battles like this, and Lu was always the one who started it, so they only chased after her.

"Do these supervisors just have to show up whenever I almost got her—oops!"—Lu said to herself while running away from the supervisors. Then a hand caught her by her back collar at a corner. When the supervisors turned at the corner, their objects have vanished into thin air.

"They're gone. Seriously, when will you stop causing trouble?"—Add asked Lu as she was hanging in mid air because Add still got her back collar like a puppy being lifted up.

"Put me down! This is not the way how you treat a queen!'—Lu yelled at Add while kicking the air, trying to escape but to no avail.

"You okay, Ciel-san?"—Feuer asked.

"I'm okay, thank you."

"Put me down this instance Add!"

"Fine fine, as you wish your highness."—Add said then dropped Lu down.

"Let me introduce you guys, this is Lu, daughter of a royal family from the demon world. This is Ciel, her butler, half demon. Lu-san is actually 3rd year, but because she often have to take care of family business and absented a lot so now here she is, 2nd year."—Feuer introduced Lu and Ciel to Ara and Elesis.

Ara sat down beside Lu then patted her head, then from a pat became a full hug.

"You …you are so cute!"—she said while hugging Lu and almost suffocated her.

"…Cute…"—Elesis said then also patted Lu head.

"Let…me…go…It not like…I enjoy this or anything…"—Lu said but she purred a bit like a cat as a sign proving that she does like it, a bit.

"So, how is your company business going?"

"Got a little bit of problem, but nothing is impossible for me!"—Lu said, lifted her head into the air full of confident. Then the bell sounded the class had started.

"We should get back to class now."

"Have fun, I'll find somewhere else to doze off."—Add yawned then waved goodbye at his friends, but Ciel caught him before he could escape.

"Not on my watch, Add-kun."—Ciel said as he dragged Add back to class like a sack of potatoes.

"What different does it make if I sleep in class or outside?"—Add tried to argue, but the butler mind was set, so he still got dragged back to class in the end. Not too far from their position, some figures were watching them from the dark.

* * *

Lunch break, the group was having lunch in the school garden under a tree with bento made by Feuer like normal.

"Look like you cooking skill had improved a lot, Feuer-kun."—Ciel complimented after trying Feuer food.

"Good teacher, good student."

"Now that you are back, any planning for the near future yet?"—Add asked while shoving the food into his mouth.

"I heard that you were forced to become that Eve servant right?"—Lu asked and caused Add to stop eating and spitted the food out.

"Where did you get that info?"

"Worry not, I'll take the chair of the Student Council President from her and free you from your slavery soon."—Lu said and shoved the last bit of food down her throat, and choked.

"Yay, I'll be counting on that."—Add said with a mocking voice while handing over a can of juice.

"What about, Elesis-san?"—Ara asked as she turned to Elesis, but the girl just shook her head.

"How about join a club?"

"…A…club?"

"Yes, a club! It very fun to join a club, you can learn many thing and can make new friends too."—Ara said full of enthusiasm.

"That can be a good solution. So do you like anything back then at your old school?"—asked Feuer.

"…Kendo…"

"Kendo huh? Luckily, we know just the guy. Let meet again after school okay?"

Then they returned to class. Time passed quickly, and it already the last class of the day, Magic Training class, the special class that cannot be found anywhere except at El Academy.

"Okay everyone, both sides ready?"—Camilla asked both teams. She worked at the El Academy both as a PE teacher and Magic Trainer. In Magic Training class, the students will be trained under many types of competition, because the 'Contract of El' depend on the emotional state of the student, and the only times that human can express their strongest state of emotion is when competing each other, or near death. The type of competition will differ depend on which day of the week it is. And today was Tuesday, so it will be

"**Base Capturing"**

Students from 2 classes will divide into 2 teams, camped at 2 sides of the field. When the signal is given, 2 teams will rush for the base in the middle of the map. The team that managed to place their flag into the base altar and prevent it from being taken down in the time limit, that team will win. Base Capturing was the most famous competition in the El Academy, it is the competition where students will show their teamwork, tactic, battle analyzing skill and counter attack plan. More importantly, today was the match between class C, and the elite class, class A, the famous Student Council President Eve class.

"Why does it have to be today?"—a student from class C groaned.

"It the elite class of Eve-sama. We don't stand a chance."—another student added in.

"And the other classes are watching us too. We will be humiliate until the end of our school life."

"Tch, you haven't try yet and you already give up?"—Add scowled.

"Elite class whatsoever I don't care. I'll beat them down if they dare stand in my way."

"And the Base Capturing…begin!"—Camilla shouted into the micro. The room was a giant simulator, it will change the surrounding into different type of terrains every Magic Training class.

"So today we have a rocky desert terrain huh?"—the surrounding changed into an alley with high pillars of red rock, windy and dusty atmosphere. The sun shining on the sky looked very real, but it just a giant simulator screen

"Let get lunatic!"—Add crackled his knuckles then rushed forward with Feuer. As expected from the elite class, they have already captured the base and placed the flag. And some of them were rushing toward class C camping spot to stop them from proceeding further.

"There they are! Those from class C!"—a student in the attack group shouted.

"Heh, only 2? We will take them down in no time!"—another one said confidently.

"Out of my way! Quake Buster!"—Add shot a big electric blast into the ground. The blast wiped out some of the students from class A barrier immediately. To avoid any fatal damage, in the Magic Training class every student will have a magic barrier surround them. The barrier will absorb all incoming damage, and also act as a hit point bar. When the bar reach zero, that student will be disqualify from the competition.

"Look out! It Add and Feuer! Go back and warn the other!"

"Who just said that will take us both down in no time huh?"—after taking down the first group, Add and Feuer continued to ambush the base. They ran into a small alley and suddenly, from 2 sides a lot of boulders started rolling down from the slopes toward them.

"Rapid Raid!" / "Dark Wave!"

Ara summoned fox claws and shredded the boulders into pieces while Elesis materialized her blood into a armor covering her arm and delivered a punch that sent the boulder back to the one who pushed it down, the students from class A on the top of the slope.

"Great timing, Ara, Elesis!"—the 4 continued to rush forward the base. Half of the time had passed, so they sped up to reach the base and recapture. The elite class was too full of their power and strategies, they underestimated their enemy too much, especially Feuer and Add. The 2 were already strong, and with their ability to combine their attacks, support and cover each other, the 2 became an unstoppable duo.

"Eve-sama! The class C is coming at us fast! And their number is only 4!"—a student shouted after receiving the new from the scout.

"2 among them, one with silver hair and one with grey hair right?"-Eve asked back.

"Y…yes Eve-sama!...Wait, I just receive some news, 2 more are coming this way."

"Just as expected."—the girl sipped her cup of tea, put the cup down on the tray in Chung hand, then stood up.

"Let go Chung."

After several encounters, the class C pioneer group consisted of Add, Feuer, Ara and Elesis had reached the last obstacle. When one team captured the base longer than half of the time, a barricade will be brought up around the base. The opponent will have to break through the barricade in order to recapture the base.

"Eschaton!"

From behind, a giant wave of demonic energy blasted toward the barricade and drilled a big hole in it.

"About time you 2 show up."—Add turned around to see the one who blasted the barricade away.

"Make it in time for the party."—Lu said with Ciel walking behind her.

"We got only 2 minutes left. Let hurry!"

"With only 6 of you and managed to defeat half of the elite class, I'm impressed."—Eve stood in front of the base with the rest of the class A. The barricade was a piece of cake to them, but this is their real final obstacle that stands between them and their victory.

"I'll deal with Lu, Chung you take care of her servant. The rest, get rid of those 4."—then the class A group separated into 2 battlefields, one is a 2 versus 2 death match between 2 queens and their servants. One is a death match between 2 unequal forces, 4 versus many.

"Look like we are surrounded."—Feuer laughed.

"So? I'll just have to beat them down, piece of cake."—Add left eye glowed brighter as electricity began flowing along his body and near his eye.

"Eun will help me too."—Ara said then summoned her little fox.

"…Beat them…down…"—Elesis added the last part. The class A rushed at them like a storm, the 4 have already went into their battle stance, then from behind, some of the students from class A were attacked. Add turned around and saw that the rest of class C had come as reinforcement.

"We aren't gonna let you guys have all the fun! Now go get the flag!"—the students that gave up in the first place when knowing that they will have to face the elite class now changed their attitude and decided to rush up and help. Then the bell sounded that 2/3 of the time had passed, now the students are allowed to go full strength.

"Feuer, we are going to take that flag down."

"Right behind you, Add-kun."

The 2 rushed forward and met with another battlefield, bullets flying everywhere, demonic power versus energy beam, a total chaos. Lu was desperate for the Student Council President chair, and Eve didn't want to give it to her, Ciel and Chung devoted their life for their queens. None of them wanted to lose to the others.

"Look like they didn't notice us, now the chance Feuer!"—Add said then the 2 rushed at the flag. He kicked the class A flag down and took out a small stick, the stick then turned into a tall flag. When Add was about to place the flag down, he sensed something was coming toward him. He leaned his head backward a bit and just in time, a flow of pressure flew pass his face. When he looked again it was an arm, with a mechanical look. Then he felt something cold under his feet, he looked down and saw that the ground was frozen. He took a few steps back to check on his enemy.

"Heh, I almost forgot about you 2 annoying pests."—Add growled at his enemy. A girl with purple hair, and a male with short black hair.

"Noah and Valak, the Disciplinary Squad."

"We will not let you proceed any further. Because it was Eve-sama order."

"Tch, not much time left and the 2 most annoying pests just have to show up in such critical moment."—Add grunted.

"Feuer, you take care of that girl for me."—Add then rushed at Valak.

"This is the first time we meet each other right, Noah-dono?"—Feuer asked his enemy with a smile.

"Enough talking. I'll not let you pass."

"Well, I hate to fight with a girl, but since Add-kun asked me to deal with you."—fire started to cover around Feuer body. The temperature was extremely high, to the point that the ice that Noah created earlier, which was rumored that cannot be melted, instantly vaporized.

"Guess I have no choice."

"Today is your unlucky day to challenge the Ice Princess. Blizzard Shower!"—Noah summoned millions of ice shard and rained them down on Feuer. When blitz ended, the place where Feuer stood turned into a giant ice berg.

"Hm, dog barks louder than they bite."—Noah turned around and about to move to the next target.

"Isn't it kinda soon for you to leave?"—Noah startled then turned around. The ice berg was melting down by a giant scorching flame, like a miniature sun. Feuer stood as the center of the flame without even a single scratch.

"You…what was your rank?"—Noah asked, still didn't believe what she just saw with her own eyes.

"A rank."

"_A rank? With his power level, reaching S rank and be in the elite class would be nothing."_—Noah thought to herself while Feuer still waiting for his enemy to make a move.

"Why don't you attack me? When I was thinking and off guard, you could have finished me off."

"Striking on a lady when she is not concentrating is not my style."—Feuer titled his head to a side and laughed. Felt a bit insulted from her enemy, Noah tightened her fist and summoned more ice shards and an ice barrier around herself.

"I'll show you what is a frozen hell."

"Hahahaha, I would love to see what it look like!"

-Meanwhile, on Add side—

"Electron Barrage!" / "Meteor Punch!"

Add and Valak were exchanging blows with each other. One with the ability to control electricity, while the other control metal. The advantage seemed to lean on Add side, but being in the elite class and the Disciplinary Squad, Valak had more experience in combat than Add.

"You punch like my grandmom!"—Valak mocked.

"Your punches are even weaker than a phoru!"—the 2 of them were fighting and arguing at the same time.

"Attention! Only 10 seconds left!"—Camilla spoke into the micro.

"_10 seconds left?'_—Add startled. He noticed that he wasted too much time dealing with Valak. He must place the flag into the altar, it now or never. If he fail, everything that his class had done will be meaningless.

"Tch, Quake Buster!"—he shot an electric blast at Valak and forced him to dodge. Taking the chance, Add rushed at the flag lying on the ground and picked it up. Normally, he can use his power to run as fast as lightning, but it took about 2 seconds to concentrate and time does not allow him to. So he injected the electricity as stimulant into his leg muscle. This can temporary let his muscle surpass normal human strength, but his leg will be paralyzed as a cost.

"5 seconds left!"

"Tch, not on my watch!"—Add held the flag in his hand rushed at the altar. Valak then controlled the metal that he used as armor on his arms earlier to stop Add. Fast reflex combined with muscle enhanced with electricity, Add swiftly dodged all of them.

"3…2…"

"RIGHT THERE!"

* * *

After school, the 4 meet again to find a club for Elesis. Lu and Ciel still got a lot of work to take care so they went home first. About the result of the magic training class, it was…a draw.

"A draw? Seriously? We did too much and a draw?"—Add cursed. Ara and Elesis were supporting him because his legs were paralyzed due to using electricity as stimulant.

"Because you slammed the flag too hard and broke the altar into pieces. But the audience cheered for us a lot. It a shame that it was a draw, but we won the audiences heart."—Ara trying to calm Add down while helping him to move. After a while, they reached the Kendo club. Inside, the sound of wooden sword clashing with another can be heard clearly.

"Sorry for intrusion."—Feuer said then opened the door. A male with short black hair with a shinai in his hand, stabbing into the floor was standing by the side.

"You there! Use your leg more! The power of the sword come from the leg!"—he shouted at a student in kendo uniform. The student followed what he said, he took a longer step forward and stroke his shinai down on his opponent head.

"Men ari!"—the judge raised the red flag to announce the winner and blew the whistle to mark the end of the match. The other students clapped to cheer on both fighters. The 2 fighters bowed their head to show their respect toward their enemy and to thanks for a good match then re turned to their seat.

"Oi, Raven-senpai!"—Feuer waved at the male from earlier named raven.

"Long time no see, Feuer-kun. And you too, Add."—Raven greeted the 2 then turned to Add. He lifted an eyebrow as he saw 2 girls were helping Add to walk.

"Do not say it. Not a word."—Raven was about to say something, then Add cut him off immediately. But raven persisted and decided to say the thing in his mind anyway.

"You look so miserable."

"If I weren't in this state, I would beat you to pulp for sure."

"Anyway, what is it that you came here for?"—Raven changed back to the main subject.

"This is Elesis. We are looking a club for her to join, and she used to be in a kendo club back at her old school."—Feuer explained.

"Is that so? If it is someone that you introduced, then I cannot take them lightly."—Raven smirked then threw a shinai at Elesis. Knowing that this is a challenge invitation, Elesis immediately get into position, so as Raven.

"Let see what you are made off."—Raven took off his kendo uniform to equal with Elesis. He pointed his shinai at her.

"How did you 2 know him?"—Ara asked after putted Add down on the floor.

"Street fighting. That guy used to be the boss of a yankee gang, the Black Crow. Let see, it was some time ago when we were still 1st year and Raven was 2nd year, me and Feuer were walking home from the Glitter Hunter…"

"Oi you!"—a male wearing a mask shouted at Add.

"What?"—Add grunted back.

"Leave all your belongings and get loss."

"Are you talking to me?"

"Who else would it be? Do you see any other guy with stupid hair style like you?"—the mocked and all of them laughed. Add who was really tired because of the work at the restaurant now had angry written all over his face. He gave the one who just made fun of his hairstyle an uppercut. The others than stood up and grabbed their weapons.

"Tch, I just want to go home to sleep and never wake up. Feuer, let just get this over with so we can leave."

"After we took them down, we met Raven. The 3 of us have a showdown until morning and none come to school that day. Feuer respected his strength, but not me. I still want a rematch with him."—Add finished his story just in time the match between Elesis and Raven begin.

"Blood Slash!"—Elesis rushed forward and lsashed 3 times, then delivered 2 heavy slashes.

"Very nice, you know how to use your whole body for both agility and power. Dash Launch!"—Raven returned with 2 quick slashes, the final slash went upward and sent Elesis flying. But without the slightest of confusion, Elesis repaid him by smashing her sword down.

"Blood Wave-"—but Raven was faster, he immediately leaped into the air and deliver another slash.

"Slash Uppercut!"—Elesis used her shinai to block the attack, using the force from it she pushed herself back and landed safely. After catching her breath, her lips curved into a smile.

"Raven-senpai is so strong."—Ara used to train martial art a lot, so she could tell a person was strong or not. And to her, Raven was R=really strong.

"Elesis was just testing him. Now she will use her true power"—Add said as he noticed the smile on Elesis face, the same smile like back then when she fought him.

"Bloody Onslaught!"—Elesis rushed forward and furiously swung her sword.

"Finally decided to go full power huh? Sonic Blade!"—Raven smirked then also swung his sword at high speed that normal eyes cannot follow.

The force when the 2 attack collided was too great that it almost like a tornado. Everyone in the Kendo club didn't move their gaze away for the entire match. Although the 2 have stopped fighting, it took all of them about 2 seconds to get back to reality, because the match was totally out of this world.

"Your skill is very good. I'm looking forward to see you again tomorrow."—Raven smiled. The rest of Kendo club then gave the 2 fighters a long applause.

"Who is this girl? She is awesome!" / "She could rival even Captain Raven speed!"

"You still haven't got your own shinai yet right? Then you can keep that one. Take it as a gift from me to the one who rivaled me."—Raven pointed at the shinai in Elesis hand. Then the group waved goodbye and returned home.

"You were so awesome back then, Elesis-san!"—Ara cheered with the girl as she remembered how Elesis fought.

"First time I see someone who can catch up with raven-senpai speed in Kendo."

"Now that you joined a club, try to make some new friends kay?"

* * *

-Some time earlier, Soucream mansion—

"This is…"—Lu hand was shaking after she read the letter that was sent to her.

"_To Luciela R Sourcream. To bad that our matches today didn't bring any clear result. So I would like to take this somewhere else. Tomorrow meet me after school at the Hope Bridge. We will settle this by ourselves, no servant. –Eve-"_

"Finally, you decided to take it serious huh, Eve. Very good then, I accept your challenge."—Lu smiled then crushed the letter and threw it into the trash can.


	5. Chapter 5: More like family

**Shiraga: **chapter 5 is up. And since some of you guys confused why i changed Ciel to having his firearm before his gundblade in the last chapter, well here is the description.

Ciel and Chung magic is materialization. And in game the thing that they materialize is the silver shooters and the firearm. I changed it to fit with their magic, but dont worry, they will get their cannon and gunblade soon. always save the fun for the last moment.

anyway, enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 5: Master and servant? More like family**

* * *

"So you decided to take it serious huh, Eve? Very well, I accept your challenge!"—Lu smiled then crushed the letter and threw it into the trash can. At her house, suddenly Eve sensed a weird feeling that sent shiver down her spine.

"Lu-sama, dinner is ready."—Ciel knocked on the door to tell Lu that her dinner is ready.

"Ciel, tomorrow I'll settle once and for all with Eve. She just sent me a challenge invitation."

"So she wanted to take it outside? Where will the location be?"

"No, tomorrow I'll be going alone."

Ciel was pouring tea into a cup then paralyzed by Lu words. Few tea drops soaked the table cloth. Ciel immediately clean the mess and putted the cup down.

"Sorry for my mistake, Lu-sama. But can you repeat the thing you just said?"

"Tomorrow, Eve and I will settle our duel by ourselves, no servant."

* * *

"Morning, Feuer-kun, Add-kun!"—Ara waved at the 2. Feuer waved back while Add yawned a bit.

"Morning, Ara-dono, Elesis-dono."

"I told you already! I'll do this by myself!"

"My apology in advance for being rude, Lu-sama. But my mission is to take care of you and to make sure you will get no harm as a servant of the Sourcream family."

The 4 then turned to the direction and saw Lu was being angry at Ciel while the butler trying to convince his master.

"Stop being to overprotective at me like that! You are my servant, your mission is to take care of me not being overprotective like my father!"

"My mission was given to me by your father before he pass away! How do I suppose to face him if you got hurt?"

"Well, if that the case then I'll make it easier for you: Ciel, from today I don't need you anymore, you are free to leave the Sourcream family."—Lu harsh words left Ciel in shock, he buried his feet at the school gate. Lu then realized what she just said, but decided to turn around and walked away. That day, Ciel absented from class, which had never happened before. Feuer stared at Ciel table nearby in worry.

"Don't worry Ciel. She just starting to get rebel, puberty maybe?"—Add was on the roof, at his old chilling spot with Ciel.

"She is a demon and actually a lot older than you Add, so she passed puberty a long time ago."—Ciel smiled back.

"She still looks like a miss queen-wannabe to me."—Add responded back. The 2 went silent for a while then Add continued.

"8 years has it been, hasn't it? Since her dad pass away from illness."

"A long time, but when you look back, it felt like it was only yesterday."—Ciel answered.

"Lu used to be much more innocent. But since her father incident, many things belonged to her were taken away. Her innocence, her family warmth, and her power was also stripped away from her."

"She is a demon with pure bloodline, every demon families rely a lot on the paterfamilias for the power. Lu-sama father was the strongest in her family history, he was the one who freed me from the cruel underworld, a half demon, the lowest rank among the demon."—Ciel lifted his head as he review about the time in the darkness. The time when he was still a street rat, lurking in the dark alley, looking for his next prey. Until he met the man that lightened up his life, his first time at Lu house, his time when he was trained to become Lu personal bodyguard and servant, the time when he made his contract with her, the time when he first met Add and Feuer, and his most painful memory: the death of his savior.

"Because being a half demon, even thought I received his power when making the contract with Lu, it didn't got taken away when he die. I promised myself and my savior, that I'll protect his most precious treasure, protect Lu."—Ciel said as he clenched his fist tighter. Add smiled then patted his back.

"Good to see you back to your old self."—but Ciel confident only lasted for 5 minutes, then he returned to his depressed self again.

"But what should I do now? Lu said she doesn't need me anymore…"—Add banged his head against the wall, then turned to Ciel.

"Stop being so down like that for the sake of El, dang it!"

Lunch break, Feuer and the others tried to cheer Ciel up, while Lu separated from the group and had lunch alone. They all tried to think of a way to solve this dilemma, but none of the ideas seemed to be able to bring the best result. School ended, Add, Feuer, Ara and Elesis waved goodbye to Ciel and apologized because they couldn't help much.

"I'll return to the Sourcream mansion and try to reason with Lu one more time. Thank you, you all had been a really big help for me to regain my spirit."—Ciel bowed his head then waved goodbye. He walked for a while and reached a big door with fence surrounding a big garden. He rang the door bell and waited for respond, then a voice asked from the panel on the door.

"Yes, who is it?"

"It me, Ciel."—the screen on the panel then shut down and the door opened. Ciel walked inside and right when he stepped inside the main hall, a lot of maids and other servants in the mansion just crushed on him with their weight.

"Ciel-san! Why did you leave us?" / "Did you do something that angered Lu-sama?" / "Don't leave us, Ciel-san! This house will be in total chaos if you do!"

They all begged for Ciel to stay, but didn't hear any of his respond.

"You…you are really…going to leave us?"—a maid asked and almost burst into tears.

"No…but…first…I need some…air down here…"—Ciel said as he tried to escape the bunch of maid and servants above him. The others then get off him and helped him to get up. After adjusting his clothe, Ciel told them about Lu challenge with Eve and didn't need servant.

"So that is why Lu-sama was being angry."—a servant said while nodding his head.

"I'll try to reason with Lu-sama one more time, maybe she will understand."

"Well, she is not back yet so just wait for a bit. We will support you from behind the scene."—another servant gave Ciel a thumb up then they all returned to doing their work. Ciel smiled back then began waiting for Lu. Menwhile, Lu had come to the Nasod Dumpsite, the place where Eve said they will be having their duel in the letter.

"I am here Eve, just like what you asked, no servant. Now show yourself."—Lu shouted as she materialized her claws and readied to settle everything with Eve. 10 minutes passed but still no sign of the Student Council President.

"Where are you Eve? Or are you scare of me?"—she mocked in hope that her opponent will show up soon. Her opponent did appear right after the mock, but it wasn't Eve, instead it was a lot of students from El Academy.

"What did you just call our Eve-sama?"—a student asked with an angry face.

"Don't you dare call Eve-sama like that ever again!"

"Who are you? Where is Eve?"—Lu asked back.

"You think Eve-sama have time to deal with the type like you? That letter was our trick, to lure you here without that noisy servant of your."

Now, Lu realized that she had been tricked. Anger started to build up inside her as her claw grew bigger. But all the students showed little to no fear at all. Instead, they smirked back and moved closer to Lu.

"You think your puny power can stand a chance against us, the elite class? We know about the origin of you demon power, it relied a lot on the head of the family, but your father is already long dead. And you don't have that servant with you now, you still think you can win?"

"Silent!"—having enough with the insult, Lu shouted at them and they all instantly shut their mouth.

"I were going to forgive you all, but you insulted my family, my race and my father. That is unforgivable!"

"Keep saying all you want, because those will be your last word!"

* * *

"Add-kun! Can you take out this trash please?"

"Coming!"

"Another trash can go bye bye."—Add said to himself while taking out the trash.

"Weird, I haven't felt tired like before recently anymore. Normally I would have knocked out by now, look like all the hard work had paid off."—Add smiled to himself and didn't notice that someone was standing behind him.

"And look like your hard work gave you a side effect of autism."—Eve said with her monotone and made Add startled and hid behind the trash can.

"IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT PRETTY BOY BEHIND YOU, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOU WERE A GHOST!"—Add shouted from behind the trash can.

"So you are scared of ghost?"

"NO, I'M NOT!"—Add shouted again before leaving his hiding spot and readjust his uniform.

"Anyway, why are you here? What about the duel with Lu?"

"Duel? What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you send her an invitation and said that you 2 will settle everything without servant? Isn't that is why you are still here this late?"

"I think you got something wrong here. The reason why I came home this late is because of some work of the Student Council, and I did not send any invitation to her."

Add eye widened at Eve word. Many thoughts crossed his mind, and 9 out of 10 of them are really bad.

"Add-kun, what taking so lon- oh, hi there, Eve-dono!"—Feuer poked his head out from the kitchen window to check on Add, still have a frying pan in his hand. Add immediately took out his phone and call back to Sourcream mansion.

"Hello, this is Sourcream mansion. Oh, Add-sama!"—a maid picked up the phone and recognized Add voice.

"I told you guys already, stop calling me with 'sama' part. Anyway, is Ciel there?"

"Ah yes, please wait a moment, I'll get Ciel-san right away."

"Ciel here."

"Is Lu back yet?"

"No, she haven't, what wrong?"

"Big trouble, look like Lu got tricked. Little miss president said she didn't send any challenge invitation. Hello? Ciel? You still there? Ciel?"—Add just finished his sentence, without hesitating, Ciel immediately rushed out of the house to look for Lu.

"Where could their meeting spot be?"—Ciel tried to look at all the place that can be use as a battle stage. He ran from one place to another without stopping even for a second to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Lu was having a hard time dealing with all the students from elite class at once. She wasn't a combat expert like Ciel, her power got stripped away, and her opponent is the elite class.

"Not so prideful queen now huh?"—a student mocked at Lu beaten state.

"_Being beaten like this…I had failed the Sourcream family…I failed father…Ciel…help me…"_

On the other hand, Ciel was still blindly looking for Lu. Then the crest of Sourcream family on his forehead started to radiate. Ciel heard Lu called for his help as the crest emitting bright blue light.

"_Lu-sama…she is calling for me…"_—having pin pointed the location, Ciel immediately rushed at the Nasod Dumpsite. What he didn't notice was 2 figures were following him.

"Let just end this already."—a student said as he raised the steel pipe in his hand and about to strike down on Lu. He swung it down, but the pipe was cut into half.

"What the…"—then a figure jumped down from the top of the pile of metal scrap with a cross shaped firearm in his hand. He swung the firearm with great force and knocked the students away.

"Sorry for my delay, Lu-sama."

"Ciel? How did you find this place?"

"The crest of the Sourcream family guided me here, but I didn't know it can do that."

"So the noisy servant had come."—the students that were knocked away earlier got up again. Ciel gave them all a death glare as he held up his firearm.

"Just wait for a bit, Lu-sama. I have some trash to take out."—Ciel stepped forward with a murderous intention, which made those from elite class took a few steps back.

"S-stop right there! Don't you dare to hurt us. Did you forget about the law already?"

Aside from the normal laws, when coming to El Academy or human world, all races must abide one rule: 'If any race hurt a human being, they will be punished by the human law.' At first, this rule seemed unfair because some will bend the rule and hurt other races and using the reason as self defense to avoid facing consequences, but at last it got accepted just because other races were born with magic power inside them while only some of the human have magic power, or the 'Contract of El'.

"So what? As long as there are no witnesses, the police can never convict us."—Ciel showed no fear against the thing that those from elite class just said as he pointed his firearm toward them. They thought he was joking, they took some steps back while Ciel took some forward.

"H-hey you are joking right?"—a student asked, but Ciel didn't answer back and point his firearm as him. He was very very serious.

"Well, I would run away if I were you. How about we give you a lift? To your sweet nightmare."—those from elite class then heard another voice from nowhere. They looked around to find the owner of the voice, but to no avail. Then a barrier of fire covered Ciel and Lu. Ciel stepped back away from the fire, while on the other side of the barrier, he heard the students were screaming. It sound like they were being attacked, they tried to resist, but every single of them got taken down, one by one after every second. When the fire died down, those from elite class now lying on the ground, paralyzed. Ciel didn't understand what just happened, but right now Lu state was much more of his concern.

"You okay, Lu-sama?"—he asked as he took out a aid kit from nowhere.

"Ciel…Ciel…CIEL! I'm sorry! I'm…so sorry…"—Lu cried and hugged Ciel neck tightly, almost suffocated him.

"It okay, I'm here now."

Behind a mountain of metal scrap nearby, Add and Feuer were leaning against it, Add crossed his arms while feuer with both his hands behind his head. They were the one who took down all of the elite class students when they were confused.

"Look like they made up."—Feuer smiled.

"But I didn't know that the crest of a demon family can be used to pin point a location."—Add still wondered about the strange thing happened with the Sourcream crest on Ciel forehead.

"I don't think that the crest can do that."—Feuer said as Add lifted his eyebrow.

"The one who told Ciel about Lu location, was him."—then he pointed at a spot not far away from Lu and Ciel. Add looked at the place where Feuer pointed, he saw a figure in light blue light, the strange thing was…he was floating in mid air. Then the figure moved toward the 2.

"Good evening, it been a long time."—Feuer greeted the figure as he bowed his head.

"So it was you huh old man?"—Add asked the figure. Normally, if something like this appears, he would have ran 10 miles far away from the location. But somehow, this figure gave off a warm light and he felt peaceful around it.

"_Thank you for saving them, Feuer-san, Add-san."_-the figure smiled at the 2.

"Even after 8 years, you still worry about your daughter, old man? Now I understand why Lu hates being overprotected."—Add said to the figure.

"_Of course I am worry! She is my only and precious daughter!"_-the figure tried to defense himself. Then he turned at Lu and Ciel.

"_But seeing that she still have him and you 2 around her, I think I worried too much."_

"Just go and rest in peace already old man. When we still here, no one are going to lay a finger on her."

"_Then I entrusted my daughter to you 3."_—the figure said as he vanished into millions of small light. What left is a four wings star. The star floated higher into the air and returned to Ciel crest.

"Look like our job here is done. Let go Feuer."

After putting on the bandages, Ciel carried Lu back to the Sourcream mansion.

"Ciel…I'm sorry…"

"You already apologized, Lu-sama."

"No, I still haven't apology you properly. Since father passed away and mama was too weak because of her illness, I promised him that I'll become stronger to protect the Sourcream family and his company. But I only care about myself, when I looked back, I had changed too much. I used to tell you that we are friend not master and servant, but everything collapsed because of my harsh words. I'm sorry, Ciel."—Ciel then turned around and gave Lu a flick in the forehead.

"Well, I forgive you, as a friend to a friend."

When the 2 returned to the Sourcream mansion, Lu experienced what Ciel used to, being crushed by all the maids and servants in the mansion.

"You made us worry, Lu-sama!" / "Are you hurt anywhere? Ah! There still some blood here!"

"I'm fine! I'm fine!"—Lu said as she tried to get out of the hoard. Ciel smiled then walked away.

"Where are you going?"—Lu shouted.

"I got fired, remember?"

"Said who? I'm your master, and don't think I'm going to let you get away that easy."

"_I think you were right for once, Add-kun. She is a miss queen wannabe"_

* * *

Later morning, Lu and Ciel came to school as a duo like normal. And the first thing they did was challenging Eve again.

"Look like they made up with each other. It rare to see any servant and master like them."—Ara felt relief.

"Servant and master?"—Add asked while looking at the duo.

"They look more like family to me."—then he saw Lu and Ciel were running at them, with a bunch of supervisors chasing after them.

"Why the heck are they chasing after us? You 2 are the trouble maker here!"—Add shouted at Lu while running from the supervisors.

"They found out that you guys helped us last time so…this and that and, you know already."—Lu tried to explain only to gain more scold from Add.

"But this is kinda fun, isn't it?"—Feuer laughed.

"I can't say, but it does feel a bit excited."—Ara answered.

"…Fun…"—Elesis added the last part.

"Next time, remind me to stay away from you 2 if there are any supervisors nearby!"

Then they continued to run away from the angered supervisors.

"_Don't worry, father. I still have my friends with me. I'll not disappoint you and the name of Sourcream family ever again."_


	6. Chapter 6: Rhythm of Youth

**Shiraga: **finally, chapter 6. sorry for the late update guys, computer have been going crazy

half of this chapter credit goes to Nishigami. I was running low on material, then the idea of a name for the group in your review hit my mind. thank you

* * *

**Chapter 6: Rhythm of youth**

* * *

"What?"—Add asked with both confusion and irritation showing on his face.

"I'll repeat again. Eve-sama wanted you to come to the Student Council this instance."—Chung repeated the order that he was given.

"What does that miss president want from me now?"

"Look like there only one way to know."

Then Add and Feuer followed Chung to the Student Council room. Feuer just humming a soft tune while Add mind was filling with a lot of weird ideas that he could think of about this sudden meeting.

"_What the hell now? What else does she want? I completed all the requests that she pushed on me, and none of the clients have any complain. So what?"_—Add was thinking too much and too hard that smoke began to come out from the top of his head, like an overheated machine.

"We are here. Eve-sama, I'm coming in."—Chung knocked on the door.

"Add-kun, what are you doing?"—Feuer asked and turned to Add. Add was wearing a fully armed soldier suit, with a helmet, a large backpack on his back, a belt full of grenades and ammo clips with a gun in his hand. But of course they are all fake, right?

"Preparation before going in a dungeon."—Add replied. Chung opened the door then the trio stepped inside.

"I'm glad that you come, but may I ask what is wrong with your clothes?"—Eve asked after seeing Add cosplay.

"Just…get into the problem why you call us here and ignore my costume already."

"Then I'll make it quick. The thing is…"—the room went silent. Add made a loud gulp to embrace himself for whatever Eve had to say.

"You had done well."—after Eve word, the room went silent again. But this time, the atmosphere was even more awkward than before. Add was too shocked and didn't believe his own ears. It took him 5 second to snap back to reality.

"Feuer, did the weather forecast say anything about today having a storm or something similar?"

"No, today will be sunny and the sky is clear."

"Okay, now hit me hard in the face."—Feuer immediately gave Add a flick on his forehead.

"Ouch…okay, definitely not a dream."—Add confirmed while rubbing his forehead to ease the pain.

"How rude of you to say that after my compliment. Just as I said, you had done well on solving the requests that we sent, and your punishment had been lightened. But that is only the beginning, you still have a long way until your freedom."

"You don't need to tell me that."—Add grunted back and turned around.

"One more thing. Have you thought about a name for you group yet?"

"A name? For my group?"

"At first, you are the only one that made a deal with me, but since you friends decided to help, you should think of a name so other students won't be having any trouble when asking for your help."

"Why do I need a nam—"—Add was about to protest, but Feuer cut him off.

"That might be a good idea, Add-kun. Well, we are off!"—Feuer waved goodbye then dragged Add out of the room.

"Tell me again why do we need a name for the group?"—Add asked again after being dragged back to class.

"So how do you suggest the other students to call us when asking for help? Calling both our name is too long, if only calling the first letter it would be 'AF'."

"I don't know why but that name sound extremely disturbing."

"And that is why we need a name. You guys have any idea?"—Feuer said then turned to Ara and Elesis.

"A name for our group? Hmm…does 'Fahrmann' sound good? It my hometown name."—Ara suggested.

"Oh, nice one. Let see 'Fahrmann'…'Fahr'…'ma'…'nn'…how about you Elesis-dono?"—Feuer wrote down the name in his notebook.

"…Red Knight…that is my little brother…favorite TV show…"

"Red…Knight…good. I'll get some more advice from the other, than we will discuss about which name is the best."—then the class started as the teacher stepped in. For the rest of the day, the 4 continued to solve the given requests while Feuer trying to get more idea on the name for the group.

Rearrange the tools.

Client: Apple, Art club president.

"20 paint brushes, along with 20 paint board, 20 picture frames, 10 set of oil and pastel color. Is it correct?"—Add putted the tools down in front of Apple, the Art Club president. Apple looked into the paper in her hand and nodded.

"Yes, that should be all of them. Please put them in there."—the girl pointed at the corner nearby. Add and then moved the stuff toward the corner and putted them in order while Ara and Elesis rearrange the color on the shelves.

"A name for your group?"—Apple titled her head to the side because of Feuer sudden request.

"Sorry for asking so sudden, Apple-dono. But since you are the president of the Art club, do you have any suggestion for a good name?"

"How about…Color Harmony? Everyone have a color that represent them, so does each of you. Speaking about color harmony, colors seen together to produce a pleasing effective response are said to be in harmony. However, color harmony is a complex notion because human responses to color are both affective and cognitive, involving emotional response and judgement…"—Apple kept going on and on with her lecture about color.

"Thanks for your idea, but we will take our leave now."—Add said then dragged Feuer who was writing down everything that Apple say. Ara and Elesis bowed their heads then also left.

Cleaning the pool.

Client: Ryota, Swimming club member.

"A good name for your group huh?"—Ryota asked while running the mop on the pool bottom.

"Yes, we are kinda low on idea at the moment."—Feuer said. Ryota then stopped cleaning and took a look at the 4. Add was cleaning at high speed, even thought he slipped several times on the slippery surface, he always manage to get up almost immediately. Ara was clumsy so she slipped and fell down a lot. Elesis, being lazy again so she just sat under the shade to watch.

"How does 'Freestyle' sound? It's a type of swimming competition, but you are free to use any style of swimming. You guys don't seem to have anything in common, so I think that suit you best."—Ryota smiled. His golden hair and blue eyes shone under the sunlight, combined with his smile, he literally became a small sun.

"Free…style…thanks for the suggestion."—Feuer wrote the name down in his notebook, then he heard a loud sound from behind.

"Add-kun! Watch out!"—Ara shouted at Add to warn him. She slipped again for the N times and was sliding toward Add. But her warning came too late. When Add turned around, Ara collided with him and the 2 slid toward the edge of the pool. Luckily, they slid toward the hoard of lifesavers so they cushioned the 2 impact.

"Better watch where you are stepping next time Ara."—Add said while rubbing his head.

"Sorry, Add-kun."—Ara apologized then opened her eyes. What appeared before her was Add chest and his six packs, because he took off his shirt before cleaning the pool. She came into contact with a male body this close for the first time of her life, which turned the girl face into a big red dot in the middle of a blue pool.

"Oh my, you sure know how to make a move Add-kun."—Feuer whistled while taking a picture with his phone.

"What do you mean?"—Add asked back, Feuer pointed down. Add looked to where he was pointing and saw an Ara with a massive blush on her face.

"Oi! Ara! You okay?"—Add asked while shaking Ara shoulders. But no response.

"Dang it, she got a heatstroke."—Add then lifted Ara up, princess carrying style. He jumped out of the pool and sprinted toward the infirmary. But his action caused the girl to blush even more and more. When he managed to get to the infirmary, Ara had already passed out due to intense blushing.

"I should have told her to put on a hat to block the sun ray."

"I don't think that the case, Add-kun."—Feuer laughed. Elesis placed her hand on Ara forehead to check on the fainted girl temperature.

"Feuer-kun…"

"Yes, Elesis-dono?"

"I can make fire too…"—Elesis showed Feuer her hand that she just used to check Ara temperature. And it was literally burning.

"Hahahaha! N…nice one Elesis-dono!"—Feuer rolled on the floor laughing and gave Elesis a thumb up.

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

Later on, the trio continued to take care of the given requests, and Feuer also got a lot more suggestion in his notebook from the client. School ended, they 3 got to the infirmary to pick Ara up. The girl just woke up a moment ago.

"You feel better?"—Add asked while handing over Ara bag to her.

"Yes, I feel better, thank you Add-ku—"—then something flashed in Ara mind, she remembered why she fainted. Her face turned red as the memory flowed back into her mind.

"I-I remember I got something to take care today! S-so l-later, see you guys tomorrow!"—Ara said then quickly ran out of the infirmary, but tripped after 5 steps. She got up immediately, bowed her head again then ran off.

"Look like she is just fine."—Add poked his head out of the infirmary with relief because Ara had recovered. Feuer chuckled a bit, then the 2 waved goodbye to Elesis as she grabbed her shinai and get to the Kendo club.

"Well, we still got work to do. Let go Add-kun."

Meanwhile, at Ara house. The girl just got home, she closed the door behind her and slowly slid down on the ground. One of her hand placed on her chest where her heart was beating faster than normal.

"_What…is this…feeling in my chest?"_—she wondered to herself. While she still trying to figure out what was the feeling, Eun, the small white fox appear beside her and climbed on her shoulder.

"Eun-chan, that tickle!"—Ara giggled then putted Eun down her lap. She ran her fingers through the fox fur as it purred quietly.

"Thank you Eun-chan."

* * *

-After work hour, Add and Feuer house-

"How about the one that Apple-dono suggested us? 'Color Harmony'?"—Feuer asked.

"Yeah…I don't want to become like one of those power ranger things."—Add replied while scanning through all the suggested name that they got.

" 'Freestyle'…no"

" 'El Search Party'...if it something that I'm currently searching, then it my freedom."

" 'Salvatore'…no"

"No, no, not this one, not this one either, too typical, no, no, no and no."—Add said while his finger ran along the list. But none of the name seemed to be suitable.

"Gah! I hate doing things like this!"—Add shouted then threw the papers into the air in irritation. The papers scattered in mid air and slowly dropped down on the floor.

"Maybe we will try again tomorrow. There still some that we haven't asked yet."—Feuer picked up the scattered papers on the floor and putted it on the desk. The 2 went back to their room to sleep. That night, Add was being chased and haunted by a lot of weird names in his dream, in the end, he awoke in the middle of the night and stayed like that until morning.

* * *

"Morning, Add-kun."—Ara waved at Add and Feuer on her way to school. Ara saw that Add had bags under his eyes, and the coffee that he was drinking was 3 times more bitter than usual.

"Don't ask anything."—Add raised his hand as he knew what Ara was going to ask.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Elesis-dono anywhere."—Feuer looked around to find Elesis as normally, she would come to school with Ara.

"I rang her house bell this morning, but no response. Maybe she was still asleep. Yesterday she did help us with the requests."

"By sitting on the side and watch while we do all the work."—Add added on the last part. The bell sounded as school started. All the students then get to their classes, but even until lunch break, still no sign of Elesis.

Polishing the instruments.

Client: Alisa, Music club member.

"Sorry for bothering you guys again."—Alisa apologized.

"It our job so don't let it bother you."—Feuer said while cleaning the trumpets.

"All these recent requests…are only about cleaning things…you people just don't know how to keep your stuff clean, do you?"—Add was trembling with anger because he hate getting his hand dirty, but all the requests since yesterday were all about cleaning.

"Then, I'll show you…WHAT IS CLEANING AND HOW TO KEEP YOUR STUFF CLEAN!"—then, he pulled a belt out of nowhere. On the belt was several bottle of cleaning chemical. He grabbed 2 pieces of cloth and began cleaning all the instruments at high speed, one after another. They all were polished, cleaned and Add used suitable cleaning chemical for each type of instruments.

"Did I tell you that Add-kun extremely hates dirty thing and being dirty? You can literally call him a 'Clean Freak'."

"And…that the last one."—Add exhaled sharply as he finished polishing the last instrument, he wiped his sweat and his hand after putting them all back in place.

"Thank you for your help again."—Alisa and Rena bowed their head to show their appreciation. Feuer raised his hand again to say that they don't need to do this. Then the problem about a name for the group crossed his mind.

"Can I ask you 2 a favor? The Student Council President, Eve-dono said that we should find a name for our group, so the students will have better convenient when asking for our help. Do you have any suggestion?"

"Well, how about…"

* * *

"What? An invitation?"—Add yelled.

"Yes. The Kendo club members are mostly veteran from the old 'Black Crow' led by Raven-senpai. When the 'Black Crow' still active, we were notorious."—a student from the Kendo club said, then they all closed their eyes to flashback about the glorious day of wreaking havoc with Raven as their leader.

"All the other gangs feared us. They only need to hear our name and they all will run with their tail between their legs."

"Okay, okay, save the story for later. Get into the problem."

"The thing is, there was 1 gang that appeared half a year after the 'Black Crow'. They call themselves the 'Dark Elf'. They were really strong. But on the fame ladder, they always stood in second while we always in the first place. Since you 2 defeated us and Raven-senpai retired the gang, they climbed to the first place, but lost their rival. Now they kidnapped Raven-senpai and Elesis-san as hostages to lure you guys out. They think that if they can beat the one that defeated the 'Black Crow', they will be accepted as the official strongest gang by the other gang."

"Such stupid idea."—Add frowned and turned around.

"I don't care if they want to beat us or anything. But they messed with my friend, and Raven and I still got something to settle. Don't think I'll let them get away with this. Where is the meeting spot?"

* * *

-Few hours later, Garrison in the Sky—

"Chloe-sama, they are here."—a girl with dark skin bowed down in front of a tree. On top of a tree was another girl with bright pink hair, tied into a ponytail, hopped down.

"About time."—the girl walked toward to get a better view of her opponent. The others immediately stepped aside to make a path for their leader.

"So, you 2 are the one that defeated the 'Black Crow' huh?"

"You are the leader right? Where is Elesis and Raven?"—Add shouted at Chloe.

"Calm down little boy, they are right here."—Chloe said then snapped her finger. The others then dragged Raven and Elesis out, and they both have several injuries all over their body.

"Elesis! Raven!"

"Sorry, Add-kun. We were a bit careless."—Raven apologized with a grin.

"So you want to beat us right? If that the case then…"—Add being angrier than ever, crackled his knuckles as electricity started to build up around him. Feuer titled his neck from side to side as he covered himself in flame.

"…I'll make it fast."—then both sides engaged.

"Add-kun."—Feuer whispered while dodging an incoming knife.

"Yeah, I saw it. They all are elves, just like those 2. But their skin tone looks different."—Add replied back after delivering a kick.

"Alisa-san used to say that the elf race split into 2 different communities. One is the normal elf like Alisa-san and Rena-senpai, the other consisted of elves that have been corrupted, or for short, the Dark Elf."

"So they are corrupted huh? Guess they don't really care nor have even read the law, and they are the one that violated the law first. Which mean…"—Add threw a punch covering in electricity at one of the 'Dark Elf' gang in front of him and sent her flying at the others. His lips curved into a big maniac grin.

"…we are allowed to fight back as self defense. But try not to alert the Elnigma Add-kun."—Feuer finished the sentence with a sadistic smirk on his face and sent shiver down Add spine.

"Maybe I should be worry for them instead of the Elnigma. Twirl Rush!"—Add said then rushed forward with spinning electricity in his palm in a shape of a sphere. He dragged several dark elves along with him then delivered one final punch. The elves that got dragged along got stunned by the electricity and collapsed to the ground.

"Hoop, miss me, miss again, and again, and again, and again. Seriously though, you guys should relearn how to use a knife properly."—Feuer swiftly dodged all the incoming attacks at him while teasing his opponents.

"Why don't you use your fire and get serious?"—Add shouted while holding off a large hoard of elves and dodging their attacks.

"If I set a fire, other people will notice and there will be a lot of witnesses. Do you want thing like this get to Eve-dono ear and your punishment got lengthen?"—Feuer laughed back as his opponents now lying on the ground huffing, all of their effort trying to hit him became vain.

"Guh…"

"These 2 are still the same like before. No matter how outnumbered their enemy is, they can still fight and tease the other at the same time."—Raven laughed as the scene reminded him of his battle with the 2. Then from inside the bushes behind them, a figure reached her hand out to them.

"Shh, Raven-senpai, Elesis-san. I'll get you 2 out of here."—the figure was Ara. Add and Feuer were to cause a big ruckus as possible while Ara using it as a camouflage to rescue the hostages. She untied the rope for Raven and Elesis, but the 2 that were ordered to guard the hostages noticed. As soon as his hands are freed, Raven grabbed twig nearby and knocked the 2 guards out.

"Finally, some payback. My hands have been itching to do this since yesterday."

"Look like they are better than I thought."—Chloe spitted the reed in her mouth out, then raised her hand to signal all of her gang members to stop fighting.

"I had witnessed your power, look like my subordinates are no match for you 2. Then I'll be your opponent."—Chloe said then snapped her finger. From behind the tree that she was on before was a big cage. The thing that was trapped inside was going havoc as it tried to break free from the thing that was keeping it. 2 elves got Chloe signal, they stood from a safe distance and released 2 small energy blasts at the lock on the cage. The thing inside realized that it chance had came, slammed hard at the door and broke free.

"2 versus 1 seem unfair, so I prepared this baby for you. It name is Glitter Panzer."

"Hey, that sounds kinda similar to our restaurant name."—Feuer laughed.

"It does. But it sure is nowhere near to be able to compare with our restaurant."—Add added on. Hearing an insulted word, the Glitter immediately rushed at Add at his speed, despite it gigantic figure and heavy armor.

"I would take that back if I were you. It might be big, but it heart is very small."

"Be careful Add-kun. It might be big but pretty fast."—Feuer shouted with a smile and tried to ignore Add angry expression.

"Guess that make you my opponent then."

"Is that so? I never wanted to hurt a girl for my entire life if I can."—Feuer sighed with a smile.

"But since you hurt my friends…"—his expression then turned serious as more flame started to cover his body, mostly his legs.

"…I'll make it an exception. But I'll go easy on you."—Feuer rushed at Chloe and in a blink of eye, he was right in front of her. He threw a back flip kick with fire covering his legs, but Chloe dodged it. Without letting her having time to react, after landing on the ground he rushed at her almost immediately and threw another kick. The elf leaped a few meter backward to dodge the kick and to gain distance while releasing an energy blast at Feuer, which he easily diverted into another direction with his kick.

"Just as expected from the one that defeated the notorious 'Black Crow'. But you aren't the only one with strong kick."—Chloe smirked then covered her legs in dark aura. The 2 rushed at each other and threw their kick at the same time. The 2 kick countered each other and created big explosion. Chloe got knocked back by the explosion, after she landed she felt a slight pain on her leg.

"_Guh…that attack can pierce through even the 'dark force'? But that mean that guy would have suffer the same…"_—but in contrary to Chloe thought. When the smoke from the explosion died down, Feuer still stood at the same position where he delivered the kick. He showed no change in his serious expression, not even the slightest, only his clothes got torn at some parts because of the explosion.

"_What? He still standing?"_

"Are you done over there yet? Don't go anywhere, I'll come right at you."—Feuer said then lifted one of his leg up and changed his stance into standing with one leg. The fire on his leg changed, more concentrated than a wild fire. He threw a strong kick toward Chloe and sent the fire on his leg toward her. Chloe dodged it, but when she turned to check on her opponent, he was right in front of her.

"Phoenix Onslaught."—Feuer threw his knee into Chloe abdominal, following by a back flip kick and straight kick that sent her flying. He leaped into the air after her and delivered the final kick and sent her back down to the ground. But instead of letting her hit the ground, he landed faster and caught the girl in time.

"Guess that is enough for her."—Feuer sighed and placed the girl down. The remnant of the 'Dark Elf' gang was taken care of by Raven, Elesis and Ara. Then the 4 went to check on Add. They saw that he was lying on the ground near the Glitter Panzer.

"Add-kun!"—they ran over to Add and flipped him over, just to see that he was sleeping.

"Hahahaha! He hadn't got any sleep last night. He must have reached his limit."—Feuer laughed as the other 3 sighed in relief. Ara lifted Add head and placed it on her lap. Feuer then remembered about what Rena said before about the name for the group while putting bandages on Raven and Elesis.

"_You guys are still young. Youth is something you can only have once in your life. So enjoy it while it last, do whatever you want. But you guys are special, you do whatever you want, but you are not lacking an order. You do it the way you like it. And when I look at you guys, it almost feels like a melody, of life, of youth."_

"I think I know what will the name for our group be."

* * *

"So you have come. Have you come up with you're the name yet?"—Eve asked when the 4 came to the Student Council room.

"If not then why would I even be here? Anyway, the name for our group is…"

"…_Cadence."_

* * *

**Shiraga: **the name of the group, "Cadence" is actually my old guild name, and Alisa is the name of one of my guildies. Anyway, reviews are appreciate


	7. Chapter 7: Noisy Class President

**Shiraga: **chapter 7, finally manage to update this. Been busy with test last week, and some part of this chapter, i dont even know what i am writing if there are any mistake, dont blame the author, blame my brain. anyway, character reference:

Aisha: Elemental Master

enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 7: Noisy Class President**

"S…some…body…Help…"

"_My body…feel so heavy…Am I…going to die?..."_

"Oi! You! Wake up! Can you hear me? Say something!"

* * *

"_The incident of that day, if it wasn't for them, I would be lying 6 meters underground right now. Oh, they are coming!"_—on a tree near the road, with leaves as camouflage, a girl was observing Add and Feuer with a binocular.

"Hm? Here come today requests lis- JUST DANG IT! SHE PUSHED ALL HER DAMN WORK ON ME, AGAIN!"—Add cursed right after he checked the long list of requests need to be solved.

"My my, the list just keep getting longer and longer. Hm? There is some note along with the list."—Feur laughed back then he noticed a small note at the bottom of the list.

"Now that you got a name for your group, you can be considered as a club. And a club needs their own club room. I had prepared a room for the 'Cadence' club. From now on, you can still receive requests from students via this device or the students can come to your place and requests your help by themselves."

"Still doesn't sound justify for this one of a heck long list."—Add grunted.

"Haizzz…at least she learned how to appreciate other people hard work."—Add scratched his head.

"_Oh, Add-kun, Feuer-kun, you 2 are still gorgeous as always."_—the girl smirked to herself as she drooled while her binoculars following every of Add and Feuer single step. Then she gritted her teeth tightly as she saw Ara and Elesis.

"Add-kun! Feuer-kun! Morning!'

"_Those 2 are true perfection together. But since you 2 come, that perfection was contaminated. I'll not forgive you for ruining their purity!"_—the girl gritted her teeth tighter and hopped down from the tree using a cyclone to cushion her.

"Leader, everything is set."—another girl from a nearby tree bush appeared.

"Good. Just wait, Add-kun, Feuer-kun. I shall free you from those 2 and protect your purity."

"Okay…so this…is our club room."—Add said while the 4 stood in front of the door of their club room, it was a small old warehouse in the East garden. He took a deep breath then opened the door and stepped inside. Although on the outside, the place looks old and could collapse at anytime, the inside looks very tidy and clean, a slight scent of cleaning chemical still in the air.

"Better than I thought. Guess I just found a new place to chill on rainy day."—Add whistled. Meanwhile, on the garret of the room, multiple girls were squealing.

"Did you hear that? Add-sama is praising our work!"

"Kyaah! I can't stand it anymore!"

"And I thought that only Add-kun can reach this level in cleaning. The one that cleaned this room must be very handy."—Feuer added on. Now the girls on the garret have reached their limit. Some started to nose bleeding.

"Kyaah! Now it Feuer-sama! I'll remember this day for the rest of my life!"

"I'm…I'm on the ninth cloud…"—a girl said while nose bleeding.

"M-Ma'am, we lost Purple 1!"

"What wrong Ara-dono?"—Feuer asked.

"I think I heard some noise from the garret. Elesis-san, can you help me a bit?"—Ara said then with Elesis help, she lifted Ara on her shoulder. Ara opened a panel on the ceiling and poked her head into the garret.

"Ladies, prepare your camera! Do not let the sacrifice of Purple 1 become futile!"—the girl that seemed to be the leader ordered.

"Add-kun, there are others on the garret."

"So, you guys are the one that cleaned this room for us, I'm appreciated. But you said you are from what club again?"—Add asked after all of the girls, 6 in total got down from the garret after being spotted.

"Ready girls?"—the leader asked, the other 5 nodded back. Then they all started their introduction.

* * *

(I don't even know what the heck I am writing at this part)

"We are the lens of our camera

Steel is our body and BL is our blood

We have shot over a thousand pictures

Unknown to lover, not know to boyfriend

Have withstood pain to take many heavenly images

Yet our mind still hunger for more satisfaction

So as we pray

Unlimited Camera Work

We, are the Yaoi Club!"

"Too long, didn't hear."—after the long introduction that they made for themselves, Add just gave them a short and blunt response.

"Yaoi: a type of fiction that usually aims at female audiences. The genre is about romantic relationship between male."—Feuer read the definite of 'Yaoi' that he found on the internet through his phone out loud.

"Romantic relationship? Between male? What kind of stupid crap is this?"

"IT NOT A STUPID CRAP! Yaoi satisfies the hunger of us fangirls! It took our boring life to the sky! Why must boys love girls? It too typical! Yaoi is true perfection, yaoi is love, yaoi is life!"—the leader said with great enthusiasm.

"Just what make you guys think that we have romantic relationship?"

"You just haven't started it yet. 2 boys living under the same roof, sooner or later, you will develop your relationship! Ahh~ Just thinking about Add-kun being the 'uke' and Feuer-kun being the 'seme' in bed make my body trembling with excitement!"

"I still don't get what they are saying."—Add sighed then the school bell rang. The 4 swiftly left the room to not alert the 6 fanatics.

Back in class, Add sat down on his chair and sighed. Then the class president walked to his table to collect the homework.

"Add-kun, your notebook please."

"Here- What the heck?!"—Add gave the class president his notebook, but fell back from his chair because the class president was the leader of the bunch of yaoi fanatic that he met earlier.

"Where the heck did you come from?"—Add shouted while pointing at the class president.

"Add-kun, she is our class president. At least you should remember some of our classmates instead of sneaking out of class to find a place to sleep."—Feuer mocked.

"My name is Aisha. The class C president, and also the leader of the Yaoi Club. Once the Yaoi Club had their eyes on someone, that one will never escape."—Aisha smiled then took out her phone. She tapped on the screen rapidly then showed it to Add.

"We have an information network that covers from Elder to Hamel, the Yaoi BBS. We just need an image with a single tap to upload it then, done, our allies will find you no matter where you are."—Aisha said then walked away with a pile of homework. Add slammed his face on the table with a loud grunt.

"Why the heck did I feel kinda defeated?"

Then for the whole day, Add and Feuer were being followed by the 6 yaoi fanatics. They took picture of the 2 anytime that they can and no matter the place, even the toilet.

"For the sake of El, they are even more annoying than flies."

"But in the end, they are still girls. I don't think they have enough stamina to keep up with these for longer than 3 days."—but Feuer underestimated the Yaoi Club. They kept up with tailing the 2 for a week, and no sign of even a slight bit of exhaustion. They even tried to set up many traps to push Add and Feuer into many weird situations, like trapping them inside the school warehouse with a queen size bed inside, and sometime they even got ambushed in their own house.

* * *

"Add-kun! The water is ready!"—Feuer shouted to tell Add that the water in the tub is ready. Add replied back then walked into the bathroom and took off his clothe.

"Feuer, I'm done bathing. You can use the bathroom now."—Add knocked on Feuer room door. Feuer replied then walked down stair and got into the bathroom. He took off his clothe and slid the door open.

"Why are you here Feuer? I'm not even done washing my back yet."

"That weird? You just knock on my door and said that you done bathing."

"Wait, you were in your room the whole time? Then who just tell me that the water is ready?"—noticing that there are something odd going on, they took the towels and wrapped it around the waist and immediately get out of the bathroom. Just as expected, but also not as expected. It was the fanatics, but they didn't that they would be ambushed In their own territory.

"Hng! Those…abs…I…can't stand…it…"—a girl said her last word then fell on the floor with a heavy nose bleeding while the other girls took several pictures with their cameras in hand.

* * *

"3 days? Really?"—Add frowned then sat down on the chair in their club room. The 2 have been running away from the 6 fanatics for a whole week. Every time that they thought they have lost them, the 6 fanatics will just showed up 3 seconds later.

"Okay, I'll try to deal with them."—Feuer said then walked outside, to the tree bush where Aisha was hiding. Add, Ara and Elesis looked after him from the window. After a while of negotiating, Feuer walked back to the club room. Right after he closed the door, he collapsed to the ground on one knee.

"So, how is the negotiation?"

"It went smooth. I exchanged them with some of your picture while they gave me some of your face expression."—Feuer said then took out several pictures from his pocket.

"I TOLD YOU TO TELL THEM TO STOP TAILING US! NOT TRADING YOUR PICTURES!"—Add gave him a chop on the head and knocked him out immediately. While Add still scolding Feuer, Ara and Elesis exited the room and walked to the 6 fanatics while they were squealing over the new pictures that Feuer traded with them.

"Um, you are Aisha-san right?"—the 6 fanatics then turned around. Their drooling expression was replaced with a face full of irritation, because to them, Ara and Elesis were the factor that contaminated Add and Feuer purity.

"So you are Ara and Elesis. What business do you have with us?"—one of the girl asked bluntly.

"Um, I just wanted to know why must it be Add-kun and Feuer-kun. There are a lot of boys in school, so why must it be them?"

"Because they are the only 2 boys in this school that live under the same roof."—Aisha said. But Ara shook her head.

"That is just the reason that you made up. I know that there is a deeper reason."—Aisha eyes widened because Ara have only met her for the first time, but the girl could tell that she was lying. The other girls began to hiss at Ara nonsense. Aisha gulped then raised her hand to tell the others to stop.

"In the first year, once in the swimming class, I forget to warm up before going down the pool. Resulting in my legs got cramped. Add-kun was the one who saved me. Another time, Feuer-kun saved me when I almost fell down the stair because I stayed up late the night before to sorting the assignments."—the other girls began squealing while Add and Feuer were listening to the conversation from inside the club room.

"Save her? I was just chilling at the bottom of the pool because on the surface it was too crowded and noisy. Then I ran out of air so I just came back up and she was in the way."—Add response caused Feuer to facepalm.

"Later I found out that they were living in the same house, they were the true perfection. Until you 2 come in."—Aisha glared at Ara and Elesis.

"Go back to where you came from! Are you trying to seduce Add-kun and Feuer-kun with these huge lumps? Are you mocking us because we are flat?"—Aisha shouted while pointing at Ara and Elesis chest. Now that she mentioned it, all the girl eyes then concentrated on Ara. The girl hugged her body to defense herself before the 6 girls that looked like carnivore that just found a piece of raw meat.

"I want to know…if those things are real or not…" / "She is not from the elf race, if they are real, I must know the secret."

"What are you guys doing?"—Ara asked while taking a few steps back.

"Ara-chan…I must know your secret…"

"Y-you too, Elesis-san?"—Ara took 1 step back, the 7 girls took 3 steps forward. Sensing the danger of it master, Eun appeared in front of Ara and hiss at the girls. As thought that it would scare them away, the 6 fanatics immediately shifted their attention toward the small fox.

"Kyaaah! What is this thing? It so cute!" / "Look at it tails! They are so fluffy!" / "Really? I wanna touch it too!"

The little fox, being stuck in the middle of 6 girls, started to cry out for help. Ara then summoned a fox claw in the middle of them to retrieve Eun. Even after returning to Ara shoulder, the little fox still trembling with fear. The other girls still want to brush their fingers through Eun fur some more, then Aisha snapped all of them out.

"All of you snap out of it! We have been tricked! So you wanted to play huh?"

"You guys are the one that look scary, and Eun-chan was just trying to protect me!"

"Enough talking! I'll beat you right here and protect Add-kun and Feuer-kun purity! Pyro Gust!"—Aisha said then created a flaming cyclone around her.

"She can control fire like Feuer-kun? Phantom Fox Stance 2: Discordance!"—after leaping back to dodge the flaming gust, Ara rushed forward and summoned fox claws to attack Aisha.

"Not just fire! Lightning Bolt!"—after the fire, now she created a stream of lightning.

"Just like Add-kun?"—but Ara quickly leaped back and closing in right after the lightning disappeared. She slashed her fox claw at Aisha, but missed and only some of her clothe was ripped off.

"Some nice reflex you got! But let see if you got the endurance! Cyclone!"—after dodging the claw, Aisha sent a cyclone at Ara. All the other girls skirt got flipped up because of the wind, except for Elesis didn't show much attention to it.

"Add-kun, why are you covering my eyes?"

"It because there are things that are meant to be seen, while some you must never see."—Add said while covering both his and Feuer eyes.

"Hahahah, why don't you just admit that you wanted to see the scene right now Add-kun? But still, Aisha-dono can control fire, electricity and wind at once, with that she could have make it into the elite class, but why is she here in the C class?"

"Maybe she entered our class to tail on you and me?"—Add laughed. But his laugh only last 5 second, then turned into awkward silent.

"What the heck did you just say? It sent creep down my spine! Stop saying things like that"—then he turned to Feuer and started shaking his collar.

"Um, you are the one who said that Add-kun."—then Feuer noticed something odd from the 5 girls in the back.

"_That weird, Aisha-dono is the only one that is fighting, but the others look like they were also using their power."_

* * *

After a while, the fighting between the 2 girls finally ended. Both were on the knee, huffing for air.

"You…are very…tough…"—said Aisha.

"I…never know…that tailing…other can give you…this kind of endurance…but…you can control 4 elements…that is very amazing…"—Ara complimented back.

"I…can't control…elements…I can do it…because of my friends."

"Do you know 'mana'?"

"Mana?"—Ara asked back.

"To put it simple, 'mana' is the power source of the 'Contract of El'. Depend on the type of the contract, 'mana' will be used differently. My power is to send a small proportion of my mana into the surrounding like fire, water and control them. My friends take care of the elements part, I send the mana inside and control it. So I'm pretty useless without my friends."

"It look like that you guys have done settling things with each other. But may I suggest you guys go and change your clothe?"—the 2 girls then looked down on their uniform. Several parts were torn during the fight. Aisha got claw marks while Ara got burnt spots. Both their face then turned red like Elesis hair. Add took off his jacket and gave it to Ara while Feuer did the same with Aisha.

"Oh good El! Girls, I got Feuer-kun jacket!"—Aisha began squealing as other girls surrounded her and stared at Feuer jacket like they just found gold.

"Psh, now that they are not concentrating, let get out of here."—Add whispered then lifted the lazy Elesis up and signaled Feuer to flee.

"Oi, Ara! We are not done yet! I want a rematch later!"—Aisha shouted after Ara.

"Um! I'll be waiting!"—Ara responded back then ran after Add and Feuer. After a while, Ara done with changing into the PE uniform then returned to class and gave Add back his jacket. While Aisha, still staring at Feuer jacket like a believer staring at a holy regalia.

"I think you made a wrong decision when giving her your jacket, Feuer."

"Hahaha, I don't really mind."—then Stella, the History teacher stepped in and slammed the desk to make the class quiet.

"Okay, class. I have a surprise for all of you."—she said with a smile on her face. But the smile sent shiver and unpleasant feeling down everyone in the class room spine, because every time Stella said she have a surprise, nothing good ever come from it. After writing some on the black board, Stella slammed her hand on the board and turned to face the class.

" 'History of…War'?"—the students read the title on the board out loud.

"By tomorrow, all of you must complete an essay about this topic. 6 pages long!"—and here come the students groaning.

"6 pages long? You can't be kidding right Stella-sensei?"—but the worst part still haven't come yet. Because the Stella that they knew love torturing her students. If you cannot finish the given assignment on time, prepare yourself to face hell.

"You can do this in group from 2 to 3 people. If you don't finish this by tomorrow, you will be in charge of cleaning the class after school for a month!"—and even more groaning.

"Well, that Stella-sensei for you."—Feuer laughed.

"Where the heck did our school find this 'old' lady?"—and the worst situation have come. Add just said the forbidden word in front of Stella. She quickly left the board and moved toward Add table, with murderous intention.

"Did you say something, Add-kun?"

"I said you are ol-"—before he could repeat the forbidden word again, Feuer covered his mouth in time.

"Hahaha, he didn't say anything. Sorry Stella-sensei."

"Is that so? Well, I'll let this one slide this time. But if you 2 don't finish the essay by tomorrow, just prepare yourself for the **worst**."—she emphasized the last other classmates looked at the 2, some admired them for their bravery to face Stella, while other prayed for their souls.

"_Well, they are history." / " R.I.P, Add-san, Feuer-san." / "You 2 will be remembered for your…wait, was it bravery or stupidity?"_

School bell rang, the History class ended. After Stella stepped out of the class room with her final reminding of the tomorrow essay, all the students let out a big sigh, part is relief that they have made it through another day with the Demonic Sheriff, which is Stella nickname that everyone in El Academy gave her because she used to be a police before becoming a teacher. Part was anxious because now they have to decide on their group and get over with the essay fast.

"Aww…I don't even know where to start with the essay."—Ara groaned while the 4 were having lunch on the roof.

"I wanted to help, but look like Stella-sensei got her eyes on us. Sorry."

"Hmmm…I know, I'll go and ask Aisha-san. She still hadn't decided on her group yet. Let go Elesis-san."—Ara said then grabbed Elesis hand and dragged her away.

"Ara-dono had completely changed huh? When we first met her, she still a depressed girl that don't want to live nor make friend. Now she can take care of herself pretty good."—Feuer smiled. Then they heard some loud fighting on the ground. The 2 sneaked from the roof and saw Aisha with other 5 girls were having an argument with a male student.

"What are you talking about? We have a deal, and still 3 more days until the deadline!"

"We are currently running low on the cash here, so I pushed the deadline up a tiny bit."—the other male student said back.

"But who do you think you are talking to? Your Yaoi Club application wasn't accepted by the teachers, if it wasn't for me then there would be no Yaoi Club. So you better appreciate my work and prepare the money for tonight."—the male student said then left, leaving an angered Aisha behind, still clenching her fist tightly.

"Should we…tell Ara-dono about this?"—Feuer asked after the argument is over.

"None of our business. And you said earlier that she can take care of herself right?"—after a while, Ara found Aisha and asked her about forming a group for the essay. Aisha agreed and tried to be happy in front of Ara, but still have bit of worry on her face.

"Aisha-san, is something wrong?"

"No no, it…nothing. Well, see you later. I'll come at 7."—Aisha said then waved goodbye and left. Even though the girl tried to hide her worry away, it didn't escape Ara sight, but she thought that she was imagine so decided to let it aside. But in class, she saw Aisha wasn't paying much attention to the lesson but was busy doing some calculation. After school…

"I'll get home to grab something first, then we will do the essay at your house."—Aisha said then ran off. Ara couldn't help but noticed the bit of worry on her smiling face.

"Aisha-san, she…"

"…is lying…right?"—Elesis added the last part, like she knew what Ara was going to say.

"H-how did you know that?"

"She said we will do the essay…at your house…but she didn't ask for direction yet…"—the sudden change in Elesis startled Ara. Then she hugged Elesis from behind and rubbed her chin on Elesis hair.

"Do you know that you look very cute when being suddenly clever like this, Elesis-san?"

"So, if you are worry about her….why don't we go after her?"

"But what about the Kendo Club?"—and a moment of awkward silent.

"L…let just…go after them…"—then without an answer, Elesis dragged Ara with her to follow Aisha. The 2 tailed Aisha and the other girls for a while, finally they stopped at Port Lurensia, in a small dark alley.

"So, did you get the money?"—the male student from before asked.

"Yes, right here."—Aisha said then threw a bag on the ground. The male student stepped down from his seat on top of some cargos. He opened the back and licked his finger to check the money, then shook his head.

"It not enough."

"What? We double checked the money already!"

"Oh, haven't I told you? There were some issue so I raised the priced by 30%, just consider it as payment for my trouble with the issue."

"What the? That everything we got this month!"

"Is that so? Too bad then, guess our deal is over. Boys, come out."—the male student said then snapped his finger. Several yankee came out from the dark and quickly surrounded them.

"You 2 face bastard!"

"That not really something that you should be saying your place right now."

"Hehehe, you girls should be paying more attention on us."—a guy said while locking one of the girl hand.

"Purple 2! Dang it! Girls, let teach these bad boys some lesson!"—Aisha said then the other girls began to release their 'Contract of El'. But no matter how hard they tried, nothing happened.

"You like my new toy?"—the male student asked while holding a device looks like a sphere in his palm.

"As long as this still running, try as long as you want, nothing will ever come."—then the rest of the Yaoi Club quickly got neutralized. They were outnumbered and no weapon in hand to defense themselves.

"Hehehe, where shall we play with you first?"—a male said then took out a knife and started cutting off Aisha clothe.

"_No…no…someone…help!"_—the one that was cutting Aisha clothe off, before he could move his knife another inch, he was knocked out by being hit in the head with a spear. Then the one who locked Aisha arm got punched through the roof.

"Aisha-san, are you okay?"—Ara and Elesis immediately rushed at Aisha side.

"Ara-san? Elesis-san? How did you know that I was here?"

"Sorry, I noticed something off about you so I followed you here."

"I'm supposed to be the one that tailing other, not being tailed by them. But this time, I'm glad that you 2 came."—Aisha thanked the 2.

"Ara-chan…they are coming…"—Elesis alerted.

"Be careful. That guy over there got some device that prevents us from using our power."

"Come on you guys, without their power, they are just a bunch of normal girls."—the male student mocked, then out of nowhere, something flew at him and hit the deivce in his hand, which caused it to fell and the ground and started to malfunction.

"What the?"—he cursed and looked at the thing that just hit his hand. A small white plate.

"Well well well, how have the tide turn."—a girl in the group smirked. With the device gone, it didn't take them long to deal with the yankee. Elesis dealt with most of them, bare hand. She stepped on the hoard of beaten yankee and pointed a finger into the air, making a pose.

"Elesis aneki, be our master!"—the girls bowed down to beg Elesis to take them in as apprentice. Then they all turned to the one that caused all this trouble.

"Now, to deal with the trouble maker. You shall witness the 'Yaoi Club 700 ways of tortue'."—they cornered the male student. But he took out a small bottle and slammed it on the ground. The liquid inside, being exposed to oxygen, quickly turned into a type of gas. The girls weren't prepared fo this and took a few breath of the gas and collapsed on the ground.

"Luckily I brought some sleeping gas with me. Later girls."—the Yaoi Club and Elesis quickly fell asleep, while Ara still struggling to keep herself awake, her sight slowly becoming blurry.

"Wah, wh-who are you?"—but before the male student could get out of the alley, 2 mysterious figures stopped him.

"Just 2 innocent passerby, a waiter and a cook. Here is your order sir, Fried rice with extra chilies and pepper, IN THE FACE!"—a figure said then slammed the dish of rice in the face of the male student. The extra chilies and pepper caused a great deal of pain to his eyes. The other gave him a knee into his abdominal and knocked him out unconscious.

"_Who…are…those 2?"_—Ara asked herself and finally gave up to the drowsiness. When she opened her eyes, it was already morning, and she was in her own room, on her bed.

"How did I get back here?"—she got off from her bed and walked down stair. The Yaoi Club and Elesis were lying on the floor and the sofa. Then she looked at the clock and saw that it was already 6:45.

"Aisha-san! Elesis-san! Wake up! We are going to be late!"—it took another 5 minute to wake all of the girls up. They all grabbed their bags and quickly rushed out of Ara house and ran to school. Ara, Elesis and Aisha got to their class at 7:00, just on time. They huffed for air, and when Aisha about to slide the door aside, she remembered something terrible.

"We still haven't even touched a single page of the essay yet."—another wave of shiver and unpleasant feeling was sent down the girl spines.

"Well, let do our best in next month of cleaning the class room, Ara-san, Elesis-san."—Aisha encouraged Ara, Elesis and also to encourage herself. Then she slid the door open and stepped inside.

"Oh, there you are, Ara-san, Elesis-san and Aisha-san. I received your essay and I must say, you done very well. Now go back to your seat. Class is about to start."—Stella complimented the 3 and told them to return to their seat. They just nodded back and returned to their seat, but the 3 of them, none have even the slightest idea of what was going on. They haven't done even a single page of the essay, then what did Stella receive? The history class ended, Stella turned to the class and tapped her hand on the pile of essay.

"Look like you all completed the given task very well. I have a compliment for you all."—then she walked over to Add and Feuer seat.

"You guys are the only 2 that didn't finish the essay. So congratulation, you will be in charge of cleaning the class room after school for a month."—but Add and Feuer didn't response back, because both of them were asleep. Nothing strange with Add, but rarely happen with Feuer.

"ARE YOU 2 EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"—she shouted then grabbed their collar and lifted them up to give them several slaps, it showed little to no effect however. Finally, she gave up and left the 2 sleepyhead with red cheeks because of her consecutive slap. Ara tried to wake them up, but still no used, so she just let them sleep for the rest of the day. Then the door opened, but instead of a teacher, stepped in was Eve, the Student Council President. The whole class stood up and bowed their head before her.

"You are Aisha-san right?"—Eve walked to Aisha desk and asked.

"Y-yes, I am."

"I heard about your trouble yesterday. I apologized for what the Student Council Cashier had done to you and your friends."

"Y-you don't need to do that!"

"Thank you, but now that he has gone, your club application will be reconsidered and your club may get disband."

"Yeah, I know that…"

"So I'm here today is to ask you something. Now that our Cashier had gone, would you like to take the job instead? If you do, I'll see what I can do with your club application."

"Y-yes! That would be my honor!"—then Eve left the class room and returned to her class. Aisha immediately texted the great news to the other with her phone.

"_Sure is a relief right, Aisha-san?"_—Ara smiled to cheer for her new friend.

"_But who was the one that took care of that Cashier, bring us back to my house and finish the essay?"_—then Add and Feuer woke up and stretched their muscle.

"What a good sleep."—Add yawned.

"Well, look like we will have to clean the class room after school from today, Add-kun."

"Tch, how annoying."—Ara giggled slightly at the 2 and turned away.

"_But I got a feeling that I know who it was."_

"_True friends are someone who is there for you when they would rather be somewhere else"—Len Wein._


	8. Chapter 8: The Soccer Club

**Shiraga: **finally, chapter 8. sorry for late update. Im sure you all used to have some intense sport battle in your middle school time right? Well, here you go, intense sport battle Elrios style

enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Soccer club**

* * *

"Ara-chan! Elesis-chan! Let go!"

"Okay! We're coming!"—Ara replied back to Aisha then along with Elesis, they left the classroom.

"Look like they got closer with Aisha-dono. Sure good to see them have more friends beside you and me."—Feuer smiled.

"Finally we can shake off that noisy purple head even if it only last for a while."—Add sighed while lying with his face down on the table due to exhaustion after all the ambush from the Yaoi Club the past few weeks.

"I just received the news Add-kun. The Elnigma special technical team is currently at the school because they found a small bug in it system. And next Monday is the day for the supervisors to send the monthly report. All of Elnigma data was encoded to avoid curiosity from outside, and the decoding process to prepare for the report usually takes a week."-Feuer said after checking his phone. After hearing it, Add lifted up his head. All the exhaustion on his face earlier had gone, and was replaced with a wide maniac grin.

"Combined with the bug in it system, which mean they will have to turn off the self-defense protocol, so the security will be in it weakest state. Good, tonight, we will sneak in. Hm?"—the device in Add pocket then vibrated slightly. Add took it out and saw a request with a red mark.

"An urgent request?"

* * *

-School cafeteria—

"Your club will not get disband?"

"Um huh. Eve-sama had dealt with the teacher, so our application for the Yaoi Club got accepted. But in exchange, I will be working for the Student Council as their new cashier. Now I won't have much time to chase after Add-kun and Feuer-kun anymore."

"_I think they will be very happy for that."_—Ara thought to herself.

"And by the way, last time, you 2 saved us out of a pinch, thank you. From that I had realized something new."—Aisha said then took out her club armband, but there was another line below the 'Yaoi' word.

"Yaoi is love, is life. But thanks to you 2, I had reached a new horizon, it Yuri! From now on, our club will be the Y&amp;Y, 'Yaoi &amp; Yuri' Club!"—Aisha said excitingly, then the other 5 girls jumped out from behind and popped a balloon of confetti.

"Congratz…I guess…"—Ara and Elesis clapped back.

"And since we are new to this subject, we must need some volunteer to know it better."—Aisha said with an evil smirk on her face as the 6 of them stared at Ara chest.

"Last time, you luckily escaped, but not this time, A-ra-chan."—then they dragged Ara into a dark corner. She tried to call Elesis for help, but looked like the girl was on the same side with the Y&amp;Y Club.

"So these are real deal huh? Such gorgeous shape and size. Fufufufu, now let test their quality."

"W-w-wait, Aisha-san, n-not that place!"—Ara started moaning while trying to break free from Aisha and Elesis, but to no avail.

* * *

-Meanwhile, on Add and Feuer side—

"Let see…the place should be around here somewhere…"—Add said while looking at the map on the device. After checking the 'urgent request', the 2 left the classroom and followed the map to the destination. Then they reached the North garden.

"This should be the place, but where is the client?"—Add looked around to find the one that asked the urgent request, but all he saw was a grass field and 2 goals at each end of the field. Suddenly, out of nowhere, 2 sphere-shaped objects flew at the 2. With their fast reflex, Add caught the ball in time while Feuer kicked the ball away to another direction.

"What the- soccer ball?"—Add stared at the object that he just caught in his hand. Then he looked around to find who was the one that kicked them.

"Very nice reflex. Look like asking for the 'Cadence' wasn't a wrong decision after all."—the 2 turned around and saw a girl with short green hair and 2 pointy ears was standing near the pile of obstacles uses in training.

"What the big deal huh? You are asking for help and this is how you ask?"—Add shouted while slamming the ball into the ground.

"Relax, it just a test to see if you are worthy."—the girl laughed back.

"And why do you have to put a test on us again missy?"

"Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to make sure before going into the main thing. My name is Lime, Soccer Club captain."—the girl name Lime introduced herself.

"So you are the notorious 'Wind Sneaker' Lime huh?"

" 'Wind Sneaker'?"

"You don't know Add-kun? That is the title that those challenged and lost to her gave her. The 'Wind Sneaker', move on the field as swift and silent as a breeze, but her attacks are as ferocious as a storm."

"Oh~ Stop it! You are making me blushing!"—Lime laughed and gave a big pat on Feuer back.

"Sound like some childish nickname to me. Anyway, cut to chase already."—Add grunted. Then Lime led them into the training ground.

"On the next Monday, my team will have a match with our rival from another school. But one of our main player can't come due to family issue and the goalkeeper is currently in hospital because of broken arm. So I would like to ask you 2 to join the soccer club so we can have enough player for the next week match."

"Guys, I'm back, this is our reinforcement."—Lime waved at her teammates in the training ground.

"Captain, welcome back." / 'No fair captain, you slack off to play with the hot guys while we stay here and training!" / "They are our reinforcement, NOT TOY!"

"Wait, you didn't say anything about this being a girl soccer team!"—Add shouted at Lime while pointing at her soccer team which is full of girls.

"I didn't? Tee hee."—Lime knocked her head slightly with an innocent smiling face.

"Don't 'tee hee' with me!"

"Sorry I'm late-"—the training ground door opened and a familiar figure with dark skin entered.

"Why are you here?"—Add asked while pointing at the figure.

"Long time no see, Chloe-dono!'

"Don't being too 'buddy-buddy' with me! And that is my question, why the heck are you 2 here?"

"Oh, so you 2 know Chloe-chan. That saved me the explanation. Chloe-chan, teach them the basics, they are here as our reinforcement."

"Why the heck does it have to be him/her?!"—Add and Chloe shouted back at Lime in union. Then the other girls then dragged Chloe into a corner and started whispering something with her.

"Chloe-chan you lucky little!" / "First is captain now it you, no fair Chloe-senpai!" / "Why do you guys make it like I wanted a boyfriend so badly?"

"Look like we are being the center here, Add-kun."

"You don't say."

"Here is your uniform. I made a few adjustments to fit the male body. Go and change in there."—Lime handed over 2 uniforms for Add and Feuer. They got into the changing room and they done just in time Chloe finish her conversation with the other.

"Okay Chloe-dono, please help us out."—Feuer said then bowed his head.

"Okay, first, show me what you guys know about playing soccer."

"You dribble the ball across the field and kick it into the opponent goal. Simple as heck."—Add said then started dribbling the ball across the field at high speed. Chloe ran after him and stole the ball right in front of his eyes.

"You dribble the ball, but you must also watch out so the opponent cannot steal your ball. Not so simple now right?"—Chloe smirked.

"And your role in the team is the goal keeper, so you stay at the goal and guard it, not rushing forward."

"What? Now thing just got even more boring!"—Add complained after he heard that his role is to babysit the goal.

"And you, your role is midfielder who keep the possession of the ball and pass it to the striker. Now show me what you got."—then Chloe turned and told him to try to steal the ball from her. Feuer tried his best to steal the ball, but what he got is speed, not skill and technique, so after 5 minutes of struggling, Chloe still got the ball.

"So basically, I have to teach both of you from the start, because all you got is strength and reflex. Take five, we will get to training after the break."—Chloe said then walked off to grab a towel. Right after her figure is hidden behind the corner, she punched her hand in the air with a satisfied expression.

"Oh good El, I beat them! I actually beat them!"—Add and Feuer sat down on the grass field to take a rest and looked at the corner where Chloe was shouting in joy.

"I heard that you know."—Add grunted. The other girls from the team then took the chance and grabbed some towel and water and walked toward the 2.

"Water?"—a girl asked while handing over bottles of water to Add and Feuer.

"Thank you."—Feuer thanked then took the water.

"So, you guys are the 'Cadence' that we heard recently right?"

"Ah, yes. I'm-"Feuer was about to introduced himself and Add, but a girl that seemed to be the oldest and most mature among them putted her finger on his lips with a smile.

"Feuer Klugheit and Add right? Can I call you 2 as Feuer-chan and Add-chan?"—she asked.

"Sure, I don't mind."

"I do."—Add replied back. Then the girls began to ask them a lot of question, at the same time.

"Do you have any hobbies?" / "What is your favorite food?" / "Where do you wash first when bathing?"

"Girls! Get back to training!"—Lime blew her whistle to call for the girls to gather. They pouted at her for ruining the conversation. But they still have to obey because they wouldn't want to make Lime angry. Behind the usual cheerful Soccer Club captain is something terrible that only those in the club know best.

"Call me later okay?"—the oldest girl smiled back and gave the 2 a small piece of paper with her phone number written on it before going back.

"Look like you 2 are done resting. Now back to training. We ain't got all day."—Chloe then got back and hustled Add and Feuer.

"Now you, Klugheit, dribble the ball across the field through those obstacles that I placed and return 10 times!"—Chloe ordered and making herself looks like a professional soccer coach.

"You, Add, block 1000 balls! You can only miss once!"

"Usually you were supposed to give people 3 chances, AND WHY THE HECK DO I SUPPOSED TO TAKE ORDER FROM YOU?"

"Technically, we are forced to obey her, Add-kun! Our job is to help the Soccer Club and now she is pretty much in charge!"—Feuer shouted back from the other side of the field.

"Kek, FINE THEN!"—Add grunted then putted the goal keeper gloves on and slapped both his palms together.

"Give me your best shot!"

"Don't think you are new and I'll go easy on you!"—Chloe said then started kicking thousand of balls at Add. The boy startled because she didn't say anything about all of them at once so he took one right in his face, then another one into his abdominal and several more in other spots.

"_I'm having the best time of my life."_—while Add was struggling, Chloe continued kicking balls at him while smiling.

"Look like Chloe-chan is having the best time of her life."—said the other girls in Soccer Club.

"She is definitely having the best time of her life. I'll pick up your remnants later Add-kun!"—Feuer shouted hwile still dribbling the ball across the field.

"Tch, you got some nerve there."—Add stood up after wiping the blood from his nose and mouth with an even angrier expression, even a demon would be scared to death if they see his face now.

"Less talking, more blocking."—Chloe mocked him and started kicking even more balls.

"I'll repay you twice what you did! Crushing Smash!"—fueled by anger, each ball that Chloe kicked at him, he sent them back at her with his punches, and each of them contained a small proportion of his anger.

"GOAL KEEPER ROLE IS TO BLOCK THE BALL, NOT PUNCH THEM AWAY!"

"GOAL KEEPER ROLE IS TO BLOCK ONE BALL ALL THE TIME, NOT ALL OF THEM AT ONE TIME!"—then, both of them started another quarrel and several more for the rest of the training session.

"First time I see Chloe-chan having as much fun like now."—the other girls nodded back.

"But…this doesn't look like a training for goal keeper anymore."—because instead of trying to block the ball, Add kept punching them back at Chloe while the girl kept kicking all of them back at Add.

* * *

"Thank you for everything."—the training session had ended. Those from the Soccer club greeted Lime to thank her for the training then left. All of their uniforms got dirt on several spots, but Add and Chloe? Both dirt and blood.

"I'll make you pay 3 times for what you did today."—Add turned at Chloe.

"Said the one who got a ball in his face."

"Said the one who kicks like a girl."

"Well sorry, I'm a real girl here you meathead."

"What? You want to pick a fight with me?"—now that make it the 9th quarrel of the day.

"Okay, Add-kun. Time to go. Thanks for the training, we will come again tomorrow."—Feuer dragged Add away then waved goodbye.

"I just texted to Ann-san, we will be taking a week off from our job. Let go home and prepare for tonight."—Feuer said while dragging Add with him.

"Yeah, I know. This is a thousand years chance and we are not allowed to miss it. To uncover the truth of 10 years ago."—Add said back then lifted his head up.

"_15 years has passed since that incident. The sole reason for both of us to live until now, is to uncover the truth. And we are not allowed to fail."_

Finally, night fall, the sky was covered with millions of shining stars, but no moon, which made it even more convenient. After the school guard locked the door and left, 2 shadows that were hiding under the shade of the wall quickly climbed over and sneaked in. They ran across the garden with their footsteps on the grass was the only sound that one must listened carefully to hear it.

The usual noisy atmosphere during the day was one thing, but at night, the school was completely silent. The 2 shadows sneaked into the school building, passed the classroom blocks and stopped in front of the supervisor room. They peeked inside through the window panel on the door. 3 supervisors were inside and preparing the report by decoding the data.

"I hate it when we have to decode all these data just to prepare for a single report and encode them again."—one said while still typing on the keyboard.

"If you keep complaining then it will take even longer to finish the report."

"Hey, let go and grab coffee with something to eat. It going to be a long night."—another one said then the 3 of them left the room. The 2 shadows took their chance and sneaked in. They checked on the screen and saw some data was in the middle of decoding process.

"If they are decoding a data, then the place where they store all of them must be somewhere…Gotcha."—one shadow said while typing the holographic keyboard to search for the main data memory. When they found it, both took out a small disk-shaped device. They pulled out 2 wires and plugged it into the projector of the holographic screen.

"Even though they have turned off the firewall, we still cannot let our guard down yet. I'll deal with the secret security system, Feuer you find the data."—Add said. Feuer nodded back then both of them started typing their holographic keyboard at light speed.

"Kehehehe. So they still got some trick up their sleeves left. But with the noisy firewall gone, these defense protocols are no match for me."—Add smirked while disabling all the code that had been set up to reinforce for the Elnigma defense system while the supervisors prepare for the report, one after another. With Add taking care of the defense system, Feuer only had to focus on finding the data that they need.

Checking one data at a time was too time consuming, so Feuer hacked into the main data matrix and started sorting out data into many categories: student, time and date inputted, important events, etc. Then they heard footstep and sound of talking. The other 3 supervisors must have done with grabbing their coffee and snack.

"No time for checking. Feuer, copy all the data into the USB!"—Add said. Feuer quickly plugged the USB in and copied all the data into it. They putted their projector back into their bag and ran to the door, but the supervisors already got it first.

"Coffee, check. Midnight snack, check. Let get back to work boys."—a supervisor said then they all sat down on their seat and got back to preparing the report. After making sure that all of them have their mind on the report, Add and Feuer dropped down from the ceiling and escaped. They left the school building, cross the garden and to the school gate. They climbed over the wall and quickly ran back to their home.

"Bringing these things after sure is a bright decision."—Feuer said after they had entered the house and closed the door. The thing that he mentioned was a pair of electromagnets, it was the thing that got them out of a pinch earlier.

"Where did you get these things?"

"From Luichel-san. She retired as a thief but she still keeps her tools in good condition."

"Well, it kinda late now. We will analyze the data that we got back later."—Add yawned then moved back to his room. Feuer grabbed the bag then did the same.

* * *

-The next day—

"Okay, so since yesterday event, I got scolded by Captain. So now I'll teach you for real about being a goal keeper."—Chloe said when Add and Feuer got to the training ground.

"I can beat you even if you kick thousand of balls at me. So one ball would be a piece of cake."—Add mocked. Then the 2 of them got into another quarrel.

"Just get to training already."—Chloe said then told Add to get into position. Then he noticed that there was a large machine next to Chloe.

"Today, this thing will be your opponent."—she said then turned it on. The machine then shot a ball that flew at high speed at Add. With his reflex, he reached his hand out to catch it, but because it was so sudden so he wasn't prepared. So the ball slipped off his palm and hit the net.

"If you wanted to block a ball, you need 3 things: reflex to catch the ball, strength to withstand it force, and a good sight to predict it flying trajectory. You got strength and reflex, now you will learn to predict the trajectory."

"Easy for you to say then done."—Add said while his palm still aching a bit. Chloe then walked off with Feuer to teach him about midfielder. Before going off, she turned around and shouted back at Add.

"I set the speed of each ball on the machine at 90 km/h! Try not to die too fast!"

"Who the hell kick a ball that fast?"—Add shouted then another ball came flying at him. He reached his hand out just to grab only air. The ball flew a bit higher than he predicted.

"90 km/h heh? Don't think because you are a machine and you can be better than me. Bring it on you little piece of metal."

"Look like he is getting a hang of it."—Feuer said to himself from the other side of the field.

"Ahem, focus Klugheit."

"Ah, sorry."

"Now, as I said before. Midfielder role is to keep the possession of the ball and pass it to other player in team. Which mean, if your opponent got the ball, you must steal it before they can have a chance to shoot. To steal a ball, you must predict which direction will your opponent pass the ball. Will it be right? Left? Backward or a long shot? That is why just like the goal keeper, good sight to predict your opponent movement is a must. Now, try to predict my movement."

Chloe said then when she about to dribble the ball away, Feuer stepped to her right but actually she was going left. Then he tried again. This time Chloe was about to rush forward, so Feuer pushed back to catch up with her, but instead she stood still and made a long shot.

"Too slow! Your opponent in the real battle will not tell you your mistake!"

"That was a backward pass! In case like this you must immediately escape from your opponent and chase after the ball!"

"Beware of their fake movement! Only one small mistake and you can cost your victory!"

And so, Chloe hell training went on for both Add and Feuer. Normally, those that got trained by Chloe would leave only after 2 days, but thanks to their durability from working at the Glitter Hunter, they managed to make it to day 6. Only one more day and their training will end, and they both will be ready for the big game. Training during the day, during the night, the 2 spent their time in the living room with their projector trying to decode the data that they got from the Elnigma earlier.

"Man, these things are harder to decode then I thought. How is your side going Feuer?"—Add stretched his muscle. He was lying on the sofa while decoding the data.

"I'm done with sorting the data into categories. But not much process was made either."—Feuer said back. He was sitting right next to Add on the ground leaning against the sofa.

"Tch! We got rid of one obstacle ad another just popped right up. But we have gone this far, there no way I'm going to stop when the thing we are looking for is right in front of us just because of some complicated code!"—Add said then returned to decoding the data.

"Hey, Add-kun…What will we do next…after we found out about the truth?"—Feuer stopped typing with his sudden question which also made Add to stop typing.

"I…don't really know myself. Haven't thought of that yet."

"How about asking 'him' for advice?"

"That freaky Ojii-san?...As much as I hate his freaky personality, I guess that our only option."—Add said then get back to typing.

"Well, not like we will get these things decoded by tomorrow. So let just worry about the things today, let time deal with 'tomorrow'."

* * *

And then, the last day of training finally came. The 2 were on the field with the Soccer Club. The 2 still looked the same like a week ago, but the atmosphere around them have changed completely.

"Let see what you 2 have learned last week."—Lime said. The Soccer club then divided into 2 sides. Team 1 with Add, as goal keeper and Team 2, with Feuer as midfielder. Lime blew her whistle to start the match. Team 1 got the ball. The midfielders dribbled the ball on the field. After reaching the destination, they passed it to the striker. The striker continued to dribble the ball toward the goal, but when she about to shoot, Feuer quickly ran over.

"I'll call you later tonight."—he whispered into the striker ear, who was the girl that gave him her phone number last week. His whisper caught her off guard and he took the chance to steal the ball. He continued to dribble the ball toward Team 1 goal, and passed it to Chloe, his team striker. Chloe pierced through Team 1 defense line, and made a shot. Add glared at the ball, and without letting it going any further, he rushed forward and blocked the ball with ease.

"Comparing to the machine that you used, you are still pretty slow."—Add mocked Chloe then kicked the ball back to the middle line. Both teams kept playing like that, Feuer stole the ball from the strikers, and Add always successfully block all the coming balls. The match ended with a draw as either of the team managed to score even a single goal.

"You guys sure are fast learners."—Lime said while wiping her sweat away after the match.

"No thanks to the coach."—Add mocked. And another fight started between the 2.

"Can I ask a question? Your club are very famous, but why didn't you guy recruit more member?"

"Because of Chloe-chan."—they all said in union.

"Because of her hell training, most cannot make it more than 2 days. While some only join to use our fame to cause trouble, and all were dealt with by Chloe-chan herself."

"Now that is a surprise for a gang leader like her."

"Well, she may be a gang leader and sometime cause lot of trouble, but she loves this Club with all her heart."

"Remember! The match starts at 8 tomorrow!"—Lime reminded Add and Feuer the time for the match before leaving. They all waved each other goodbye and returned home.

"I'll let Ara-dono and Elesis-dono know about the match tomorrow. I'm sure they love to come."

"Now, let go home. I'm almost done with decoding all of the data."—Add was a bit happy because he his process of decoding the data was almost completed. But his happiness soon disappeared. Last week, because the supervisors returned sooner than expected, he could only decode half of the data defense protocol in the Elnigma, and his USB only copied the already decoded one. And the data that he got, none of them contained the information that he needs.

"For the sake of El! You gotta be kidding me!"—he slammed the table in angry.

"Calm down Add-kun. We still have tonight left. Let sneak in one more time."

"Just…god dang it."—Add grunted then sat back down on the sofa. That night, they sneaked in again. They got to the school building to the same room before. Luckily, no one was inside. The supervisors seemed to be elsewhere and they still haven't reactivated the firewall yet. They got inside and plugged the wire into the projector to get the other half of data. Then Feuer noticed that the North garden, at the place where the Soccer Club field should be, still have light on.

"Look like someone is still practicing late."—Feuer said to himself.

"What the? What is this thing? Wait, no no NO! Dang it!"—Add shouted too loud that even the one in the Soccer field could heard.

"What wrong Add-kun?"

"A very complicated protection protocol was set. It wasn't here last time we sneaked in. Look like someone knew that the Elnigma data was violated and set up this one. I can deactivate it, but it would take at least 6 hours to do so."—then they heard footstep from outside and coming closer.

"Who's there?"—it was Lime voice.

"Tch, that it? A thousand years chance and we are just going to waste it like this?"—Add clenched his fist tightly.

"I'll go outside and try to distract her. You stay and see what you can do with that protection protocol."—Feuer suggested. Add nodded then sat down on the chair and trying to decode the protection protocol.

"Yo, Lime-dono."—Feuer called for Lime from behind.

"Feuer-san? What are you doing here at this time?"

"Train my eyes. You know, my role is midfielder so I need a very good sight. If I can see even the slightest movement in the dark then predicting the opponent movement on the field in mid day would be a piece of cake."—he made a fake reason and tried to make it as real as possible. Lime then patted his shoulder and gave him a thumb up.

"I knew that asking for you guys help wasn't wrong!"—luckily, she was an airhead, only a dumb would believe in that reason.

"So, what about you Lime-dono? Practicing after school?"

"Just want to make sure that my skill is at the best state for tomorrow match."

"You sure like soccer right, Lime-dono?"

"More than it, it the reason for my life. The thrill when you dribble the ball on the field, the feeling of the wind hitting your face as you run, the overflowing excitement when you hold the trophy and celebrating your victory with your friends. Before I knew it, I had fallen in love with those feeling."—Feuer continued to accompany Lime with her conversation about soccer until they reached the school gate.

"Well, see you later at tomorrow match."—Lime said then waved goodbye. Feuer waved back. After 5 minutes, Add came out. He shook his head in disappointment. Then the 2 walked back home. In the Student Council room, a figure looked through the window, watching the 2 boys walking.

"There is no way I'm letting you break our contract that easily, Add-san."—she said with a smile.

* * *

Next morning, it was only half past 7 and the spectator seats at Velder were already filled with both El Academy and rival school students. Ara, Elesis and Aisha were trying to make their way through the crowd to their seat.

"I knew that…it would be…crowded…but…never expecting…this much!"—Aisha said while being crushed by the number of people present.

"Luckily that Feuer-kun booked for us 3 special seats. If not, we would have ended up in the back row."—Ara said as she sat down on her seat. Both teams were doing their warm up before the match. Add and Feuer were stretching their muscle then Ara called for them from the spectator seat.

"Those uniforms look good on you guys!"—Ara complimented while Aisha took out her camera and started shooting pictures.

"Well, thank you, Ara-dono."—then the referee blew the whistle to announce both teams to gather. Both team formed a straight line, facing their opponent team. They bowed their head to each other as a greeting and to wish for a good match. The referee then blew the whistle again to start the match.

The rival team got the ball. They dribble the ball at high speed and quickly got to the other half of the field in less than 2 minutes. Their pass was mostly long one, but very precisely. The Academy team defense line quickly focused on the one with the ball to neutralize him and to steal the ball. Their striker got caught in a pinch, so he made a risky shot, which was easily predictable, so Add blocked the ball with ease.

"Now it our turn to take the offense!"—Add said then kicked the ball to the middle line. Feuer got the ball then started dribbling it to pass it to Lime.

"A rookie heh? Let show this guy that rookie should never be here in the big field!"—a guy from the rival team mocked. But Feuer paid no attention to it and swiftly passed through 2 players and passed the ball to Lime. The captain took the chance and made a shot.

"1-0 for the Academy team!"—the referee blew his whistle as the counter counted 1 for El Academy.

"Underestimate your opponent is the worst strategy you know?"—Feuer mocked back then returned to his position. The rival team got the ball again. The one from before, still angry because he got beat by a rookie that just started playing soccer for a week, so he dribbled the ball across the field and intended to score a goal by himself. Then he encountered Feuer again.

"Last time you were only being lucky. It won't happen again."—he said then started moving the ball back and forth with his leg.

"_Observe your opponent closely. From their eyes, their face expression and beware for fake move."_—Feuer remembered what Chloe taught him. The one on the rival team then move backward so Feuer immediately pushed forward but he knew that it was a fake move. The opponent changed his direction to the right, so Feuer did the same but faster. He slid on the ground and stole the ball. While his opponent was still shocked, Feuer passed the ball to Chloe and she scored another goal.

"Nice one Feuer-san!"—Lime said then gave Feuer a high five.

"Are you sure that they only started playing soccer since last week?"—a guy from the rival team asked.

"Yes I'm sure! My Information had never been wrong!"

"Look like they are well prepared."—a male which seemed to be their captain said. He had brown hair and the length is to his shoulders.

"They are rookie, but they got some skill, especially that Feuer one. We will take him down in the second half."

The first half ended, with the score being 2-1 and leaned to the Academy side. The team was taking a break during each half.

"Good job guys! Especially you, Feuer-san!"—Lime said while patting his back.

"Look like as long as you on the field, a goal keeper is useless."—Add teased him.

"So should I let the opponent steal the ball so you get to shine Add-kun?"—Feuer teased back. The referee then blew the whistle as break time is over. Both team then got back to their position on the field. Now the ball is on the Academy side. The oldest girl from the Soccer Club was dribbling the ball, then 2 guys from the rival team stopped in front to block her movement. She made a pass but it was cut. Feuer ran after him and stole the ball. But then the referee blew his whistle as the one form the rival team fell on the ground, hugging his leg. When the medical team carried him away, he glance back at Feuer with a smirk.

"Foul Play!"—the referee said as he raised a red card. Lime and other tried to defense Feuer because the rival was clearly cheated, but arguing with the referee on the field was the stupidest decision, so Feuer was forced to leave the field.

"You had played very good. Leave the rest to me. I won't let them score another goal."—Add reassured Feuer before he left the game.

"Stay calm girls! We lost Feuer-san doesn't mean we are going to lose! Let show them what we El Academy are really made of!"—Lime reassured her team. The rival team then had a change in player on the field. The one with brown hair from earlier threw of his coat and stood up to enter the field. Lime expression turned a bit pale as she saw the one who just joined the game.

"Lento-kun."—Lime said her rival name.

"So we meet again, Lime-san."—Lento said back as the 2 stood face to face on the field.

"Let this match design our dual. 99 times you won, and 99 times you lost against me."

"If you weren't being too much of a cheater every time, I would have beat you a long time ago."

"Ok miss captain, let go back. We need to discuss about the strategy."—Add called Lime to return with the team. Before going back, he glanced back at Lento.

"Some foul strategy you got there."—then he walked away.

"Some sharp sight you got there."—Lento smirked as he stared at Add walking away.

"So now we lost Feuer-san, and we don't have substitute. We still stick to the old strategy, but we will use 3 players to deliver the ball to the striker."—Lime explained the strategy, then they returned to the game. The 3 remaining midfielders began to deliver the ball to Lime. They passed the ball to the other one when the opponent about to block their movement. The strategy seemed to work out fine, but when the ball was being passed to Lime, Lento quickly got into the pass and cut it off.

"I don't think so!"—Lento mocked then dribbled the ball toward the goal. His flexible movement compared with his speed caused from difficulties to the defense line. Then he made a long shoot with great brute force

"_Predict their trajectory, when you got a hold of it, there are no balls that you cannot block."_—Add remembered about Chloe hell training. He observed the ball closely, and reached his hand. A successful block. But the brute force from Lento kick pushed him back a bit.

"You got some strong legs there bastard."—the second half then went on and on and ended with 2-2 so there will be an extra time. Both teams had reached their last bit of energy. So this shot will design the result of the match.

"Chloe-chan, can you make a shot?"—Lime asked.

"I don't think I can, captain. Their defense line is too thick."—Chloe said back. Everyone then began to worry because only Chloe and Lime can make a breakthrough of the opponent defense line, but with Chloe down then that make Lime is the only striker left.

"Lime, can you make a shot if I clear the path for you?"—Add asked.

"Yes I can. But how are you going to do that?"

"Staying at a goal keeper is pretty damn boring, so now it my turn to make the attack."—he said with a smirk. The referee blew the whistle to signal for both teams to return to the game. The ball is on the Academy side.

"Still using the same old strategy huh? Look like they are desperately struggling."—Lento said to himself then rushed forward to steal the ball. The 3 midfielders nodded with each other then passed backward. From behind, Add rushed forward at high speed and got the ball.

"What the? Goal keeper playing the midfielder role?"—the rival team startled at the weirdest strategy ever in soccer history. Add dribbled the ball passed the front line, the middle line then to the back line.

"Stop him! He is alone so we can steal the ball!"—Lento ordered as the other quickly fall back to stop Add.

"I don't think so gentlemen!"—he said as he did a back flip kick and sent the ball flying.

"Ha! Stupid! Don't think you can prevent us from stealing the ball in—"—from behind Add, Lime leaped into the air and in a reversed back flip motion, she sent the ball right into the opponent goal.

"-mid air?"—both the rival team, the spectator and the referee was shocked, it took about 2 minute for the referee to blow his whistle. The match ended with the score being 3-2, the victory belonged to the El Academy. The sky then filled with confetti as the audience rushed down from their seat to hail their champion. They lifted Add and Lime up and carried them to the altar to receive the trophy.

"And this year champion goes to, the El Academy! They had successfully protected their place as the champion 3 years in a row!"—the commentator said as Lime stepped on the altar to receive the trophy.

"Come one you 2. You guys are the heroes of this match. The party cannot start without it heroes!"—Lime turned to Add and Feuer. She pulled the 2 up on the altar and handed the trophy to them.

"We only attended at this school to look for the thing we need. But I guess this school wasn't too bad after all."—Add said, Feuer just smiled back at him as their raised the trophy higher for the camera man to take the picture. And so, the request at the Soccer Club ended with a flawless and a bit too much confetti result.

Later morning, the match was on the first page on the newspaper and the media kept talking about it. Because of the news about the match, very few paid attention to the news next to it.

"_Another research facility in Altera had been destroyed, the police still desperately looking for the one behind this._

_Could there be a link between these consecutive destruction of the research facilities?"_


	9. Chapter 9: Adopting Day

**Shiraga: **chapter 9, at last. This chapter special casts: Elrios most wanted pets

Reaper - D

Hoya

Thanatos

Naho

Tree Knight

enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 9: Adopting Day**

* * *

"Aaaaaaaahh~~~"—another normal morning of Elrios. On the daily track to school, Add was yawning like hadn't got any sleep for ages, even though the day before, he slept for the whole day.

"I still wonder how can you sleep so much and still being sleepy all the time like that, Add-kun."—Feuer asked.

"Beat me."—Add answered bluntly. The 2 kept walking on their usual path to El Academy. The weather had become warmer as Elrios enter the season of rebirth, Spring. The Sakura trees along the road have bloomed brilliantly while several flower petals gently flew down the road, like the cold winter still present but the snow got replaced with flower petals.

When they were about to get to class, they heard a notification from the megaphones.

"All 2nd year students please come to the gymnasium. I repeat, all 2nd year students please come to the gymnasium."

"Only 2nd year? Must be some of this school weird tradition."—the notification came while Add was checking the list of request. So he shoved it back into his pocket and went to the gymnasium with Feuer. But because being in a little rush, the device fell out of his pocket without him noticing it. Then a hand of a stranger picked it up.

At the gymnasium, all the students from other classes of 2nd year have already presented. They made their way through the crowd and they saw Ara and Elesis at the front.

"Add-kun! Feuer-kun!"

"Finally…through the crowd…So what with all the ruckus so soon in the morning anyway?"—Add asked.

"I don't know either, but the Student Council also got summoned so must be important."—just as Ara said, the Student Council then stepped out from behind the stage. Eve walked toward the micro and started speaking.

"Sorry for calling you all here this early in the morning. But today is an annual day of El Academy, which happens every year and for the 2nd year only. For the explanation part, I'll let the one in charge do it."—Eve said then stepped back to make room for whoever is in charge. The surrounding suddenly gone black as all the light then concentrated at the micro. A hole appeared on the floor as smoke flowed out and a platform slowly elevated. The student waited in silent to see who is this mysterious 'in charge' person.

"Geho! Geho! Maybe I should bring a gas mask next time…Geho! Geho!"—the students saw a big figure was crouching on the platform, coughing from all the smoke that he inhaled.

"_Then why did you even use smoke every time you appear in the first place?"_—they all thought. The figure then stood up, completely recovered and started laughing in an old fashion way like those self proclaimed star on stage.

"Gehahahaha! Good day to you all! How have all my little lab ra- I mean lovely students doing? Well, not that I care about. Today I call you here as the school president had entrusted me with this duty every year, which is an honor!"—the figure wore an optical lens, a lab coat and a stick with a hand at one end that looks like he made it himself and he usually uses it to grab thing from afar. Another detail was he was a demon.

"First day of spring and the first thing I see in the morning is this old funky demon. Must have step the wrong foot out of the door. Hope I won't have any badluck this year."—Add said which made Lu stamped on his fot with all her tiny body might.

"Add-kun, you know this old demon?"—Ara asked.

"Everyone in this school know him. He is Joaquin, Sullen Joaquin the school best alchemist teacher and is also a freak and Elrios biggest trouble maker. His skill in alchemy and other science related stuff is superb, but he love testing his work on other, especially student. You can say all the student in this school is his lab rat, even thought the school president had banned him from doing that, he still broke the rule several times."—Add said while rubbing his foot to ease the pain.

"So, no more further ado. Behold!"—Joaquin had done with his speech by the time Add done with his explanation. He grabbed the mantle covering a big object behind him down, revealing a weird looking machine with many details that…look like a machine.

"What in the El?"—all the student asked at once.

"Now each of you will come up here and put your hand into this scanner. Then I'll explain the rest."—Joaquin said. The one by one, the student walked up to the machine and putted their hand into the scanner. The machine emitted a small mechanic sound and from the other end, a small blue crystal came out. After every student have scanned and received their crystal, Joaquin continued the explanation.

"We call this day as the 'adopting day'. When you are still student, you all wanted to have and raise a pet, correct? And since you all are special, you will have your own special pet. The crystal that you just received will soon evolve into a pet that suit your personality. The spring break will start soon, so here is an assignment for you all: observe, get to know and teach your pet about Elrios. The deadline will be after the spring break."—Joaquin done with his explanation then checked his pocket watch.

"I am needed elsewhere. Farewell, my precious test tu- I mean students!"—he said then slammed a bottle into the ground and disappeared into the smoke like when he appeared.

"Geho! Geho! Geho! That it, I'm taking a gas mask with me next time."—he coughed from inside the smokescreen.

"_Do you have an obsession with smoke or something?"_—the students thought.

"So, a pet that suit your personality huh?"—Add said while staring at his crystal, he then putted it into his pocket. All the students returned to their class and continued their daily routine. Only 2 weeks left until the spring break. And no matter if it spring, summer, autumn or winter, Add can still doze off in class like usual. Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the school library, a mysterious shadow was examining the device that Add dropped earlier.

* * *

"_This thing looks beautiful. Ah! But I must return it to the rightful owner…But I can't come out in daylight, and no one comes here at night…Even if they see me, they would freak out. What should I do?"_—the figure said to herself then sat down. But she met the solid cold ground instead of a soft sofa.

"_Hm? Where did the sofa here disappear to?"_

* * *

Back to the class C, they were having cooking class.

"I'm sure you all think making rice ball is just put the food in the middle, cover it with rice and press it until it goes in shape right? NO! ABSOLUTELY WRONG! THAT IS THE UGLIEST AND MOST DISGUSTING WAY I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!"—Richian, the cooking teacher slammed the table while expressing his thought about the way how many people usually make rice ball. But half of it was about the shape and beauty, not about the taste of the food.

"So today we are learning on how to make a rice ball with flawless beauty!"

"Um, sensei. The shape is important but isn't the taste is the essential part?"—a student raised his hand to ask.

"Taste? No, no, no my student, you are completely wrong. The pleasure of 'mind' is greater than the pleasure of the 'body', so with it perfect beauty even if it taste bad, you can still feel pleasure. That is the true horizon of 'food'!"—Richian completed his self made theory about food as he lifted his head up and a light from heaven thing which came out of nowhere shone down brightly on him, making himself look like a descendant of the higher being even thought he is definitely not one.

"Just where the heck did they find this type of cooking teacher that only cares about the outside more than the inside anyway? I'm surprised that he still hadn't received his fire order yet."—Add mocked.

The students then proceeded to making the rice ball with their own way instead of following what Richian said because, they still remember the horrible history in the past that their senpai have experienced after following Richian theory of making food. The school toilets and infirmary were overloaded for the whole day. Richian walked around the class to take a look at the student process, he took a few note at those that made the rice ball with good shape even thought they tasted way better than his. Then he came across Feuer and Add group.

"What are you making, Feuer-san?"—Richian asked.

"Just some original onigiri, Richian-sensei."—Feuer responded while pressing the triangle shape rice ball.

"Didn't I tell you guys to focus more on the shape?"

"You will never know if you don't try."—Feuer convinced Richian to try his onigiri. Richian took on and a small slice of cucumber. He took the bite and his mind just literally exploded with overflowing flavor. He was so shocked that his hand can't even hold the onigiri tight and dropped it.

"Do not waste the food that you were given."—Add caught the falling rice ball and took a bite. Richian stared at Feuer, then slammed the door and ran away in tears.

"I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS!"

"It looks like you just destroyed his whole belief with a single bite."—Add poked his head out of the classroom door still munching on the onigiri. The other classmates then took a bite of Feuer onigiri and also ran out of the door in tears.

"I FEEL ASHAME OF MYSELF!" / "HE IS TOTALLY OUT OF OUR LEAGUE!" / "WE WILL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS WITH EVEN BETTER ONIGIRI, FEUER!"

"And now you destroyed the whole class with your food."—Add raised a thumb up for Feuer as he finished of the last bit of the onigiri. He touched his pocket to find the device, but it wasn't there, only the crystal that he received earlier.

"_Weird. Maybe I left it in the classroom. Oh well, I'll check it later. First thing first, a nap."_—he thought to himself and sneaked back to the 'Cadence' clubroom and took a long nap on the sofa that 'borrowed' from the school library. While he was sleeping, the other girls from the Y&amp;Y club sneaked in, unbuttoned his shirt and started doing their normal stuff.

"Oh good El! This could make a very good dakimakura!"—one girl squealed.

"Hey, that can be a good idea. We can mass produce them and sell them to make money!"

"No you stupid! The beauty of Add-sama body is our and our only. Only we can admire it, no one else can!"

"Oh, sorry. I'm such a stupid."

"So, are you girls done with your fantasies yet?"—the girls were too focused that they didn't know Add had awoke.

"Tch…CAN YOU ALL JUST LET ME HAVE A MOMENT OF PEACE?!"—the girls escaped the club room from the enraged Add while he chased them out with a mop.

"Kek, was having a good dream and now it just history."—Add scowled then returned to the class to find the device. He thought that he left it in his desk drawer, but it wasn't there. He asked Feuer if he took it to check the request list, but it wasn't him either.

"Maybe I just left it somewhere else. The other can request directly at the club room anyway. Guess I'll find it later."—then he grabbed his bag and left the classroom.

"So you guys received the pet crystal huh?"—Raven asked while sparring with Elesis at the Kendo Club dojo.

"You have one too right, Raven-senpai?"—Elesis asked full of curios because she wanted to see how a pet will look like when they evolved.

"Yes. I'll call him."—Raven said then whistled a short tune. From the dojo door, a small pink figure slammed the door and rushed inside. It used the lance on it right hand and stabbed multiple time at Raven, he used his shinai and blocked all the stabbing. He swung the shinai at the figure with all his might. The attacker knew that he cannot block the attack, so he used the shield on it left arm to push himself back as the shinai made contact.

"That makes it 20-3 for me."—he said as the small figure landed on the ground.

"There won't be a next time I lost to you, mastaaaaa-"the little figure was about to say something, but it was literally crushed by Elesis hug.

"So this is your pet, Raven-senpai?"

"Let it have some air would ya? It name is Tree Knight, that was the name that they given, but I hate it. So I named it Bushi."

"Does his leaves always pink like this?"

"No, his leaves change depend on the season. Now it spring time so his leaves will be pink, like the sakura tree. Summer will be his normal green, autumn will be red maple leaf and the best part, winter it leaves will turn light blue."

"A pet suit your personality…Wonder what will mine be…"

"Don't worry. These pet evolve very fast in the crystal stage. It only takes about a night for it to have it infant form. You should be able to see what your pet look like by tomorrow morning. When it reached the Teen form, your pet will start to develop the language. Now, let get back to our match."—Raven said then the 2 stood up and continued their sparring session while the other stared at the little fainted Bushi full of jealousy.

"_I wanted to be hugged by Elesis-chan like him!"_—they all thought while biting their bottom lip. After a few hours, the night had completely ruled the sky. Everyone went to their slumber, everything was quiet, too quiet that it almost look like a lifeless city, only a small glowing light came from student of El Academy room.

* * *

"Aaaaah~~~ It morning already?"—Add yawned while stretching his muscle. He got down from his bed and walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"_What the heck was that light from yesterday anyway? Or maybe I'm just reaming."_—he thought to himself and walked out of the bathroom still have his tooth brush in his mouth. Then he saw the crystal he left on the table yesterday was no longer in any shape that looked like a crystal. Now it looked more like a small grey skull, with a small sleeping baby on top of it.

"WHAAAAAAAT THEEEEEE HEEEEEECK?!"

"My my, Add-chan being too energetic in the morning again."—an old lady from across the street said to her husband.

"How long has it been since the last time that kid being too energetic in the morning again?"—her husband asked back.

"FEUER!"—Add shouted while running down the stair and into the kitchen.

"You want some more, little one?"—Feuer asked a small white fox sitting on the table near a big bowl of food. He raised both his hands in joy as a yes, so he poured another scoop of stew into his bowl. The scene and Feuer expression of not showing even a bit of surprise gave Add a pokerface at the door of the kitchen.

"Did you call for me, Add-kun?"

"What the heck with that expression of your? And look at this one, and that one, do they look anything like a crystal to you?"

"They must have evolved like what Joaquin-sensei mentioned. Come here and eat Add-kun, your food will get cold."—Add then took his seat and placed his small pet on the table. The little fox and Add pet stared at each other for a while, then the 2 moved closer to know their friend better. And they became friend with each other just after 3 minutes.

"Okay you 2. Sit down and eat your breakfast."

"He did say that the crystal will evolve into a pet soon, but he didn't say anything it being THIS soon."—Add grunted as he took a spoon of stew. The 4 finished their breakfast, then get to school. The little Reaper, as Add named him because of the skull that he uses to ride and Hoya, as Feuer named his little fox. Add and Feuer putted them into their bag and got to school.

The 2 small new born pets were being over excited as riding in a backpack was a new experience to them, almost like an adventure. They looked around at, feasting their eyes on a new world, new sight, new people, everything were new to them. Then they met Ara and Elesis at the school gate.

"Morning, Ara-dono, Elesis-dono. How is your pet?"—Feuer asked. Ara then showed a small little fox that looked like her Eun, but her tails were black with the tip being white instead of pure white like Eun.

"It looks just like Eun-chan just got a little sister. I called her Naho-chan."—Ara said as Eun patted the other little fox head. On Elesis hand was a small figure sleeping figure with longer than normal black hair, with a red star symbol on her forehead.

"Her name…is Thanatos."

"Really? Your crystal became a pet after one night and you all don't even show a bit of surprise?"

"Look like you are the only one that got shocked because of this, Add-kun."—they all then got to their class. Hagus, the class teacher then walked in and started the class.

"Good morning everyone. I'm sure all of your crystals have evolved into the infant state of your pet."—Hagus said as he looked around the lively class of students and their new pets.

"Today we are going to learn about each type of pet. The better you know your pet, the better you can have fun with it."—he said then turned the projector on.

"As you all known, our world, Elrios is a giant continent, with many races scattering all over the continent. But our world isn't the only one. According to old record and folktales, there is a second world, the World of El, and your pets came from there, but it still just a legend as no one had ever been able to prove it existence. Now, let move on to each type of pet."—Hagus continued with his lesson while Add stared at the little Reaper that was staring at the thing being displayed on screen.

"So you came from a different world huh?"—after the class, Add and Feuer went around the school to find the device that Add lost the day before.

"Do you remember when was the last time you seen it?"

"Hmm…oh yeah, the cooking class."—the 2 then came to the cooking class. They buried their feet at the door because they sensed some ominous aura coming from inside. Add gulped then slid the door open. Inside, Richian was making something with a freaky smirk on his face.

"Let just go inside and check if the device is here. Be quiet."—Add said. The 2 sneaked inside and checked on the floor to see if Add dropped the device in here, but it wasn't here. The 2 then tiptoed outside, somehow Richian turned around and saw them.

"Oh, Feuer-san and Add-san, good timing. I was trying my recipe of making onigiri, and I need someone to test the result."—he said while giving a plate with 3 onigiri to Add and Feuer. Their shape and size were gorgeous, but somehow they were emitting dark, poisonous aura. They waved their hand to reject, but Richian forced one into their mouth. Feuer managed to dodge the poisonous onigiri but not so lucky for Add. He took the whole dish into his mouth. The next 15 minutes, Add had seen his afterlife in the toilet.

"Just what the heck was his new recipe? I swear he putted poison in it instead of food ingredients."—Add said with a pale face after getting out of the toilet.

"The device is not in the cooking class, let look for it at other places."—Feuer said. The 2 kept wandering around school to retrieve the device while also showing their new pet, Reaper and Hoya around the school. But, even until school ended, the device was nowhere in sight.

"With nowadays technology, can a device grows legs and walks on it own?"—Add asked after they have searched the whole school, even the girl toilet, with Ara and Elesis help of course.

"I don't think Eve-dono putted that kind of function in a device just for receiving news."

"Well, maybe I'll just ask her for another one. No big deal righ-"—before Add could finish the sentence, his phone vibrated as it received a call.

"Hello?"—Add picked u his phone, he was startled and almost dropped it as the voice from the other side of the line was the one that he hated most, Eve.

"How the heck do you even have this number?"

"Student profile management is a part of my job."

"So what is it that you need from me now?"

"Just wanted to remind you. The device that I gave you was created by using my own money, not the school budget. So if you lost it, our contract will be lengthened. So make sure to keep it by your side in the spring break."—she said then ended the call. Add hand was holding the phone to his ear, then dropped and hanged on his side like a dead man, with a sweating pokerface, he turned to Feuer.

"We must retrieve that device, NO MATTER WHAT!"—Add said as if his life depends on it, well, literally. So in the end, the 2 sneaked back into the school at night.

"Sorry for asking you 2 for trouble, Ara, Elesis."—Add said as they gathered at the school gate.

"I don't really mind Add-kun."

"A night adventure…sound fun…"

"We are not on an adventure, Elesis. But is it okay to bring the pet along?"

"The more help we can get, the faster we can find the device."—Feuer added on. They entered the school building and turned on the flash light.

"Wow, even thought the school looks bright and lively at day, at night it does give off a spooky atmosphere."

"Ara! Don't say stuff like that!"—Add scowled. Since they entered the school building, Add had been quiet, too quiet. Completely different from the normal Add, and even the smallest sound of opening a door can startled him. And he was also sweating heavily.

"Add-kun, this might sounds weird to ask, but…Are you scared?"—Ara question made Add gone silent. He slowly turned at her still sweating.

"S-scare? Me? N-no way, why should I be scared of a little d-darkness?"—Add tried to be confident and not showing on his face that he was scared. Then he felt someone poked him from behind.

"Boo…"—it was Elesis with the flash light pointing at her face form below. The 'boo' was very small, but combined with her a bit soulless than normal expression and the flash light, it was enough to scare Add.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAH! WHAT THE HECK ELESIS?"

"See? You ARE scared."—Elesis said the truth while pointing at Add.

"FOR THE LAST FREAKING TIME! I AM NOT SCARED OF SOME DARKNESS AND NON SCIENTIFIC THING LIKE-"—then he turned to his left. At the end of the hallway that they were walking, a purple shadow was floating in mid air. And it seemed to notice the 4 ss it moved toward them.

"-ghost…"—the final dropped has been poured in. Add had reached his limit.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAH!"—he shouted at the top of his lungs and ran away.

"Add-kun, wait! You guys go after Add-kun, I'll catch up later!"—Ara and Elesis then ran after Add. Feuer turned around to pick their pets up. He noticed that the little Reaper was showing the emotion of happy toward the purple shadow while the shadow seemed to be a little bit confused as it turned from side to side like a person not knowing what to do. But without time to think further, he picked up the 4 small pets along with Eun and ran after the others.

Meanwhile, Add was running for his life along the hall, passing the classroom blocks. He opened a door, got inside and closed it immediately after barricaded the door.

"Ghost? Hah, ridiculous. There are no such things as ghost. They are just a bunch of electronic wavelength from the thing that is called 'soul', but until now science still hasn't managed to prove that the soul of a human exists or not. Haha…hahahaha…"—he tried to convince himself that ghost does not exist to calm himself down. After 5 minutes, he had finally calmed down a bit. He got up and walked to the door, but immediately stopped as he felt something like a hand placed on his shoulder. He shivered then slowly turned his head around. It was the human model in the Biology room.

"Add-kun, where are you?"—Ara and Elesis were outside, looking for him. His face slowly turned white as the human model opened it mouth and started speaking.

"Please…wait…"—without another second to think, following his instinct he smacked the hand away and burst down the door.

"GYAAAAAAAAAH!"—Ara and Elesis noticed his screaming so they ran after him. After that, he tried to hide in other rooms, but kept being haunted by the object inside the room, with a same voice telling him to wait.

"Add-kun! Wait!"—his maximum fear threshold had reached it limit, leading to now he started having hallucination. Ara and Elesis were chasing after him to calm him down, but through his eyes he sees them as ghosts now. The situation just got even worse when Feuer arrived. Add sees Feuer with 4 pets and Eun in his arm as a big ghost with 5 little ones.

"WHAT THE HECK DO YOU GHOSTS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?"—he screamed as his eyes started to tear up a bit. He kicked down a locker on his path to stop the 'ghosts' as he seen. Ara and Elesis dodged the incoming locker with the stuff inside, but Feuer reflex got decreased with 5 pets in his arm. He luckily dodged the locker, but a bucket flew at him and hit in the head.

"Sooo…this is what the universe looks like…"—he mumbled while lying on the ground with millions of stars floating around his head. The 5 pets escaped and ran after Add because they saw all this chasing very interesting and exciting. After a while, Add stopped at his classroom. He was too tired of all the running, so he leaned against the wall and slowly slid down the ground. And finally, Ara and Elesis had arrived.

"Add-kun!"—they called for him. But his sight still blurry so he still seeing hallucination.

"N-no! S-stay away from me!"—he waved his hands around in attempt to chase the ghosts away. But Ara quickly shook his shoulders to wake him up.

"Add-kun, it us!"—after Ara dragged him back to reality, he wiped his eyes and took another look.

"A-ara? Elesis?"—his sight has been cleared. He finally calmed down and relaxed his body a bit.

"S-sorry for all the trouble…"—he remained silent for a while then continued.

"When I'm still a little boy, my and Feuer parents died. We both were at the bottom of a pitch black. Then a strange man came and said that he will adopt us. We don't have any relative left so we just agreed with it. After we got a new home, I still got very depressed for a long time even with Feuer tried his best to cheer me up. Then the one adopted us said he know a way of cheering me up."—to this part, Add started to shiver while his hands holding his head.

"He started telling us ghost stories. How the hell can that help a child cheer up? Since then, I started to develop the fear of non scientific things like ghost and spirits, thanks to him. But somehow Feuer seemed to be very excited every time he tells ghost stories."—Add finished then started trembling even more. Ara and Elesis were sitting beside him while he telling his story. The 2 then stretched their arms and hugged him tightly.

"Whenever you feel fear or lonely, remember that we were, are and will always be with you, Add-kun."—Ara said.

"There, there…little Add."—Elesis said while patting and running her hand through his hair.

"Said the one who brought back my fear in the first place."—he said. The other pets then arrived with Eun and joined the hugging even thought they didn't know what it is. But they came with an unexpected guest, the purple shadow from earlier.

"I…told…you…to…WAIT!"—the shadow shouted which unintentionally released a dark wave. The wave caused Add, Ara and Elesis to fall asleep.

"_Ah! I…I did it again…Why do I always cause trouble at such important time?"_—the shadow said to herself. Eun was really scared but still trying to act tough as a big sister to the 4 small pets. She stood before them to confront the shadow while trembling. But the Reaper and Thanatos then left the hiding spot as they were the only 2 that showed the happy emotion instead of fear when facing the shadow.

"What! Wah! Wah!"—they kept jumping up and down in front of the shadow.

"_You 2 can see me?"_—the shadow asked. Then it kneeled down and started forming the shape of a girl in El Academy uniform instead of a blurry purple shadow.

"_I'm so glad. Everyone keep running away after they see when I just wanted to talk."_—she said then showed the device.

"_Is this your master belonging? If so then please return it to him for me."_—she said then turned away. The Reaper and Thanatos ran after and hugged her leg.

"_Staying with you guys? But…I can't do that. I cannot leave the school ground, even if I want, I don't have a shell to contain my soul."_—she said with a slight sadness on her face. The Reaper and Thanatos squeezed their little brains to think of a solution, then the Reaper tapped it tiny hand on the skull that it uses to move.

"_In your skull? Will it really be okay?"_—she asked, still a bit hesitated. The Reaper and Thanatos nodded their head at the same time. The mysterious girl then kneeled down and hugged the 2 while sobbing.

"_T-thank you. Thank you very much you 2. I had been lonely for too long…thank you for taking me with you."_—she thanked them then returned to the shadow form and entered the Reaper skull. Moment later, Feuer got to the classroom, still a bit headache.

"Add-kun."—he woke Add up.

"Ugh, w-what happened?"

"That should be my question for you Add-kun."—Feuer said pointing at the 2 sleeping beauty clinging to Add.

"W-w-WHAT THE?"—he brushed them off and escaped to a corner while blushing heavily. Feuer then woke both Ara and Elesis up. They left the school building as the sun started to rise up from behind the horizon.

"Never knew that the sun was this beautiful in the morning."—Feuer said. They exited the school gate to go home and get their bag for school. Before separating, Add called for Ara and Elesis but not turning as he didn't want to show them his expression.

"T-thank you last night."—he said while scratching his cheek.

"Did you do something fun last night with them when I wasn't around?"—Feuer teased.

"No I didn't!"

"You don't have to be shy about it, Add-kun. You are reaching 'that' age of curiosity and it human nature, so it not a bad thing."

"I told you I DID NOTHING!"

The 4 pets have experience many strange thing through the night chase. They have completed their first step of learning the daily things in their new world. The rest of the week quickly flew by as the 4 pet made their second step of experiencing the season of rebirth in Elrios, the Spring break.


	10. Chapter 10: Secret behind the mask

**Shiraga: **chapter 10 is up. I'll put it simple for this chapter summary:

ADD HAD STARTED HIS OWN HAREM!

enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 10: Secret behind the mask**

* * *

"So the Spring has come I see. Wonder how those boys are doing?"—a mysterious male said to himself while looking at a picture in his hand. Outside, the Sakura trees were blooming, the people were blessing each other for a good new year.

"Maybe I should pay them a visit. It's been a long while since I last 'scare' him to death, kukukuku."—he smirked with a mono but freaky tone and placed the picture down back on the table then left the room. In the picture was 3 figures, 1 adult with 2 kids. One with silver hair being grabbed by the adult, he was trying to break free from him but no use. The other had grey hair with a small braided pony tail standing next to the adult. From left to right, the 2 kids being Add and Feuer, and the adult was…

"Just how much higher are we supposed to climb?"—Add shouted while climbing up a stair leading to the top of a mountain.

"Just a bit more Add-kun."—Feuer shouted back from a few steps up ahead.

"Does building a shrine on top of a mountain really necessary?"—he grunted to himself. Not that he complained about climbing up a long stair. The stair was nothing to him, the main problem was the thing he had to carry on his back.

"And why the heck can't are you clinging on my back?"—Add turned his head around to the person on his back. It was Elesis, why am I not surprise?

"Because climbing this stair is too much work."—she said with her usual straight face.

"That excuse does not sound justifiable at all."—Elesis pouted a bit then leaned in closer to Add back.

"W-wait, Elesis, y-your br-breast!"—Add stuttered.

"I thought you like being this way."—she said then leaned in even closer and putted her arm around his neck. Add mind tried to protest but his body said otherwise. Now he can feel the softness and the warm of Elesis breast on his back. For a moment, some dirty thought crossed his mind, but he quickly snapped out of it.

"Add-kun is such a pervert."—Elesis teased him while poking his cheek.

"Spring is the season of rebirth but also is the season of Love Add-kun! Just let it all out, and call me if you need a room!"—Feuer gave a thumb up which made Add threw his shoe at him. After a while, the got to top of the mountain and Ara was waiting for them near the shrine gate.

"Guys, over here!"—she waved at them.

"Now that we are all here. Let start our New Year with some praying."—Feuer broke the silent. The 4 walked into the shrine, making their way through the crowd and to the altar. Each of them threw a coin and clapped their hand together to pray.

"_I wish for my parents and brother to be happy on heaven."_—Ara.

"_I wish the process on hacking into the Elnigma chamber will be smooth."—_Feuer.

"_I…more sleep…"_—Elesis.

"_I wish that little miss president got dethrone soon."_—Add.

They made a final bow, before moving to the board nearby to write their wish on the small given wooden board. Ara and Elesis then saw a sign with the line 'New year charm' on it. The shrine that they visited was famous for it divine blessing with 98% of success.

"I want one of this charm. Let go Elesis-san!"—the 2 then literally fought their way through the crowd. The strange thing was the crowd consisted of mostly girls and women. Add and Feuer didn't have any interest so they waited outside.

"Visiting a shrine in the New Year huh? We both used to do this a lot back then."—Add said while resting his arms behind his head, leaning against a Sakura tree.

"Yeah, you, me, Lu and Ciel-san, with our parents. The 3 of us always ran ahead and ended up lost in the crowd which made the adults and Ciel-san scared to death."—Feuer laughed back while the 2 reviewing their old sweet memories. The Sakura flower petals were hailing down the ground, combined with the warm atmosphere of the Spring, it was a very peaceful moment.

"Going to the Shrine in the New year with 2 girls, aren't you 2 are 2 lucky little brats?"—a voice called out to them from the flower petals screen. Even though many people came to the Shrine, and they all wore different kind of clothes with different colors, the owner of the voice was the one that stood out the most. Not only because of his single colored black costume, but he was wearing a mask. Add shivered up a bit at the appearance of the mysterious man.

"W-why the heck a-are y-you here?"—he asked with his obviously trembling voice, even though he tried to act like he wasn't trembling.

"Glave?"—he shouted the name of the man.

"Just thought that I might pay you 2 a visit after all those years."

"Um…May I say something?"—Feuer then raised his hand to break the tensed up atmosphere.

"What is it, Feuer?"—Glave asked.

"The 2 girls belonged to him, not me. He just got himself a hare-"—but before Feuer could say the last word, Add knocked him on the head.

"Not helping here."

* * *

-Meanwhile, inside the crowd-

"Almost…just…a bit more…"—Ara and Elesis managed to make their way through the crowd at last. They got to the front of the line and bought 2 charms, 1 for each.

"Oya oya, aren't you girls are 2 beautiful ladies?"—the shopkeeper at the counter said as she saw Ara and Elesis.

"A…kid?"—Ara and Elesis looked down at the shopkeeper just to a little girl with glasses.

"I might look like a kid, but I'm at least more than 100 years old. I'm Vapor, the head priest of this Shrine. Buying these charm must mean you 2 already got someone important in your mind right?"—Vapor asked which made the 2 girls titled their head to a side.

"Haven't you read the sign? 'New year charm for lovers'."—she said while pointing at the poster in her hand. The poster that they saw earlier, the 'lover part' on it was torn so they couldn't read it. Now that they read the whole thing, their face turned tomato red while smoke came out from their head.

"f-f-f-f-f-f-for lovers?"—Ara asked, trying to make her sentence clear. Vapor then nodded back.

"What? You 2 came here to buy these charms without having a lover?"—she asked. Then the image of a certain someone flashed through their mind.

"Achoo!"

"Bless you."—Glave and Feuer said in union.

"First day of New Year and someone already gossip things behind my back."—Add wiped his nose while looking around.

"So you 2 do have a lover huh?"—Vapor teased while the 2 girls rapidly shook their head.

"You cannot lie your feeling. Tonight we are holding a festival near the biggest Sakura tree at the back of the mountain. Be sure to come and play, and make sure to bring your lover~~"—she said then returned to her work. The 2 girls escaped the crowd while the word 'lover' still haunting their mind.

"Look like your girls are back, Add."—Glave said as he saw Ara and Elesis escaped the crowd.

"They are not my girls."

"Did you guys get what you need?"—Feuer asked. The 2 girls nodded but decided not to say anything about the lover part. Then they turned to Glave.

"Greeting. I'm Glave, an old acquaintance of these 2."—Glave said, with his usual monotone, even his laugh is monotone.

"U-um nice to meet you. I'm Ara, Ara Haan."

"I'm Elesis."—the 2 bowed their head to greet Glave. Glave examined the 2 girls for a while then said.

"I just got my eye off of you only for a few years, and you already got yourself these 2 hotties."

"So, we made the praying and you guys got your charm. How about finding somewhere to watch the Sakura?"—Feuer suggested. They all agreed then walked to the back of the mountain. A whole area was colored pink because of the blooming flowers, even the ground was filled with flower petals. They tried to find a Sakura tree to sit down, but all the spots were already taken.

"As expected from a famous Shrine."—Glave said looking around. The place was full of people from all type: family, student, even the slacker and yankee, but they all came here to enjoy the atmosphere, not seeking trouble.

"No spot left for us."—Add sighed.

"There is still one spot left. 'That place'."—Glave reminded the 2 boy.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that. Haven't been there for too long."—Add said. Then Feuer nodded back.

"Well, let pay a visit to our old secret place."—the group then left the Shrine.

"Um, Add-kun, is Glave-san…"

"Yup. As much as I hate him, he was the one who adopted us when our parents died. Since then, he has been taking care of us until we are old enough to take care of ourselves."

"You were always being a crybaby back then, there was no way to make you stop crying even with my storied telling skill."—Glave said while sitting at the chair across from them on the train.

"Tch, please, you story telling skill are the worst in the world. How do you expect to calm a baby down with ghost stories?"—Add mocked with a shoulder shrug. Glave then grabbed his head and whispered something into his ear which made him screamed internally.

"But my stories telling skill can make even an adult cry, kukukukukuku."—he smirked which made a freaky sound and released Add head. Add sat back down on his chair and he was literally passed out to the afterlife. After 3 stations, they have already reached the outskirt, leaving the crowded city behind. And they arrived at their destination at the 4th station, Ruben. They got off the train and left the station. Instead of going into the only small village in Ruben, they took the route into the forest.

"Add-kun, why are we going deeper into the forest?"—Ara asked while Add and Feuer led the way.

"Just wait and you will see."—Add said while they kept moving further into the forest. Then they reached the end of the road. Add and Feuer searched for something in the bushes nearby and they found a small passage. The 2 entered it and signaled for Ara and Elesis to follow. The girls stared at each other the followed. They crawled pass the bush, when they got out of the leaves, the sight appeared before their eyes was breath taking.

The place was a small cliff on the mountain, hidden behind the tree bushes so no one had ever found it, except for the 2 boys. The best part was the cliff was a very convenient spot to watch the Tree of El.

"This place has the best seat in town."—Add said. Ara and Elesis were still shocking by the beauty, the beauty that was made not by any human hand, but by mother nature herself. They were speechless and just stood there, enjoying the view while the Spring wind gently touch their face, carrying the flower petals with it.

The Tree of El was a one of a kind. It is the only tree in the whole Elrios continent with an El crystal as the center of the tree. An agreement was made that no individual or any organization have the right to take the El away from the tree. Why the tree was one of a kind? With the El as the center, the tree will never die. It leaves change depend on the season. Spring, the flower will bloom. Summer, it will be green leaves, Autumn, the leaves will turn red and Winter,, the leaves will turn white and crystallize. In the pet category of the El Academy, the Tree Knight are said to have the closest connection with the Tree of El.

Feuer and Add then stretched a large blanket on the ground and sat down. The 4 pets that have been hiding in their master bag then also jumped outside to play. Feuer took out from his back a square pillar wrapped in a flower pattern cloth. He unwrapped it and inside was several boxes with many colorful foods.

"Thanks for the food."—they all greeted before eating, except for the 4 pets that dig in instantly.

"So what had you been doing after we left?"—Add asked turning to Glave.

"Oh, so now Add-chan is concerned about me? How touching."—Glave mocked.

"Stop it! You are creeping me out. Tch, you haven't change at all, literally. Your creepy personality is still the same and you didn't even seem to age."

"I did change. My stories telling skill has improved a lot. Do you want to hear it?"

"I'll pass."

"Well, to answer your question, just regular stuff."—he answered, but Add knew that he was lying. It Glave, he had always been mysterious. Every word comes out of his mouth was carefully selected before he speak, none of them have any gap that can be used to extract even the tiniest bit of information, and none of them showed any emotion. While Add was having a conversation with Glave, Ara and Elesis were whispering about the festival. After a while of discussing, Ara decided to ask. She took out a tall bottle and pour the liquid inside into the cap and handed over to Add.

"Add-kun, do you want some tea?"—Add nodded and took the drink.

"Um…Add-kun, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"T-tonight at the Shrine, they are holding a festival. I-I was wondering if you wanted to come."—she finally said it. It was only 5 seconds for Add to reply but to her, it felt like 5 hours.

"Sure. I don't have anything to do tonight anyway. Hey Feuer, there is a festival at the Shrine tonight. What do you think?"

"Might be fun."—Feuer replied back. But he noticed a very slight different in Ara expression. Glave then leaned into his ear and whispered something, and he gave a small laugh back.

"You are still as sharp as usual."—then Glave got a phone call, so he left first. After disappearing behind the bushes, he picked up his phone.

"It me…Good, preparing a meeting tonight, at the same place. Make sure everybody come."—a while later, after done packing everything, the 4 then left the secret hiding spot, took the train back to Velder and prepare for the coming festival.

* * *

The evening came. The 2 pets, Reaper and Hoya were still infant so they got tired after playing so they left the 2 pets sleeping at home. They locked the door carefully before leaving. They walked to the Shrine and climbed up the mountain. Without having to carry Elesis, the 2 instead of climbing, hopped on the tree top to climb faster. Only after 3 minutes and they already reached the top. Ara and Elesis were waiting at the gate.

"Sorry for the wait."

"It okay, we just got here too."

"Um…About your costume..."—Add said after seeing Ara and Elesis clothes. They were wearing Kimono costume. Ara had an orange color theme with white flower pattern op top and several white streaks at the bottom. The full picture of her Kimono was a nine tails fox resting under a Sakura tree. Elesis was red theme with darker red streak pattern. And the 2 have their hair tied up tidily.

"They…look nice. It suits you guys."—Add said while turning his head away. The 2 girls smiled back at him then they walked to the back of the mountain. The place was brightened up with red lanterns hanging on a string. The full moon light shone down on the biggest Sakura tree in the back, the leaves reflect some of the light which made it looked like the tree was radiating in the darkness. There were many stalls, serving with both food and game, the thing that are essential in every festival like this one.

"So, what should we do first?"

"Let try all the games here first."

"Playing it is then."—the 4 agreed that they will try all the games first. First, they tried the Gold Fish stall.

"Wanna see who can get more gold fish?"—Add provoked.

"You're on!"—Ara replied. The 2 began their competition, using only a paper net to catch the gold fish. Think it looks easy? Think again. The net made of paper, when dumped into the water if not careful, just a small mistake and the net will be useless. With the minimum weight of gold fish, the challenge just got even harder.

"Ugh, none of us got any gold fish. But how the hell did you 2 got so much?"—Add turned to Feuer and Elesis asking because both of them got 3 each.

"I just predict where will the gold fish swim to and it will be easier."—said Feuer.

"Kendo technique."—said Elesis.

"Next stall!"—then they moved to the shooting stall.

"I'm an expert in this one."—Add said then picked up a gun.

"Which one do you guys want?"

"Um…that little fox doll!"

"The devil key chain."

"Let see if you can hit that small notebook over there, Add-kun!"

"You all will get what you want!"—Add used only one arm to hold the gun and took aim. He shot 3 rapid shots, the rubber bullet hit their target precisely.

"There you go. How about we made a new competition? We will compete at every stall, who got highest score will have 1 point. After clearing every stall, the drinks will be on the one with lowest score."—Add suggested a race with the 3. They all nodded. They tried all the games at every stall, clearing one after another.

"Okay, one final stall left."—then their stomachs start growling.

"Maybe we need a break to refill energy."—they all laughed at each other.

"You guys wait here. I'll go and get something to eat."—Add said then ran off. Feuer, Ara and Elesis sat down on a large boulder under a tree to wait.

"I haven't got much fun like this since forever!"—Ara laughed. The games that they tried, all of them were just normal game that can be found at any festival, but the thing that made it more fun and enjoyable was that they played with each other. A little bit competitive always make thing better.

""Hey, can I ask you guys something?"—Feuer asked while they waiting for Add to come back with the food.

"The charms that you guys bought earlier…It have something to do with love right?"—his sudden question made the 2 girls head explode with smoke. Their face turned red while smoke coming out from the top of their head made it looks like they were 2 moving steam stove.

"H-h-h-how did you know about that part?"—Ara asked because the poster advertising the charm with the 'for lover' part was torn so they couldn't read it. But how did this one know about it you ask? He was the one who ripped it off.

"I heard it from the other that bought the charm."—he smiled with an innocent expression.

"Do you guys know that this Shrine have an urban legend?"—then he changed the topic.

"Long time ago, at that biggest Sakura tree, there were a couple, a man and a woman, fell in love with each other. But the man family banned him to have any relationship with the girl just because her family was poor. Their love was pure, so on a full moon night like tonight, he sneaked out of his house and met the girl at that tree. After making the vow as a proof for their love, they chose death, so they can be together forever. Romantic story right?"

"Such…sad story. I hope their wish will come true."—Ara said wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye.

"After realizing their mistake that cost the life of a couple, the family of the man built this shrine to as a proof for later generation about their love. That is the urban legend of this shrine. They said if you have a charm and you pray at the small altar under the tree, in a night like tonight, your love will come true. But it just legend."—Feuer finished his tale right in time Add returned.

"Okay, hot Takoyaki and Karaage at your service."—he said handing over to each a small paper tray with octopus meat balls and chicken in it. They sat on the large boulder and enjoyed the food. But Ara and Elesis were surprisingly quiet. Sometime their face heated up and they shook their head constantly.

"What wrong with them?"—Add asked turning to Feuer with a Takoyaki in his mouth.

"Just girl stuff I guess."—Feuer smiled with his innocent expression again. After finishing the food, the 4 moved to the final game stall. The Shuriken Throwing. Because the Ring toss stall every year was too easy and boring, so this year, the owner tried to make something new, so instead of tossing the ring into the pole, he changed it to throwing Shuriken into the prize.

"Shuriken for 4."—Add placed the money on the counter. The owner then gave them 4 stacks of Shuriken.

"Okay, let this one decide our final score!'—Add shouted, the 4 then took their position and readied their Shuriken in hand.

"May this old man suggest you 4 youngsters something?"—they were about to throw their Shuriken, the owner of the stall then spoke and putted 4 wooden board on his arms, head and torso.

"If you can hit any of these targets once, you will get a special price. Or should I make it easy for you youngsters?"—he provoked with a smirk.

"You're on, old man!"—Add replied. His eyes were burning with passion to win the challenge. If anyone dare provoke him, they are gonna get it. The 4 started throwing their Shurikens. The steel 4 wings piece of metal started spinning like a pinwheel as soon as it leaves their hand. The Shuriken flew closer to the target on the old man head. They thought victory was ensured, but the old man just simply title his head to a side and dodge the Shuriken.

"You will have to try harder than that if you wanted to take this old man down."

"Worry not old man. Be assured that I'll get your special price."—the 4 then kept throwing the Shuriken at the moving targets. But the owner just swiftly dodged them all. At last, only 2 Shuriken left, and only Add and Feuer still standing.

"Tch, you sure you are more than 60, old man?"

"Add-kun, we need a plan."—Feuer then whispered something into Add ear, and he nodded back. The 2 then threw their Shuriken at the same time.

"_Look like they are desperate. This flying trajectory is too predictable."_—the owner thought to himself then moved aside to dodge the Shuriken. But that wasn't their plan. The 2 Shuriken after flying to a distance, collide with the other and changed their flying trajectory. The owner was too surprised to he could only dodged Feuer Shuriken, but not Add.

"Good job youngster. You won the special price."

"Told ya I'll get it."

"So, that settled the score. Me 6 points, Ara 5 points, Elesis 6 points, Feuer 5 points. So-"—Add recalculated the score that each earned. Elesis and Feuer got equal score so they will have to decide who win by Rock, Paper, Scissor, but Feuer cut him off.

"I'll go and buy the drink."—he said then ran off. Ara and Elesis immediately took this chance.

"A-Add-kun, there is somewhere I wanted to see."—Add followed the 2 to the biggest Sakura tree. After looking around the tree base, they found a small altar. Ara and Elesis took out their charm and prayed. Add looked around the tree some more, and he found a rope ladder leading onto the higher of the tree. He tested the ladder, even thought it was a bit old, but the rope was replaced not too long ago.

"What? Vapor-san, you used to date with your husband on that tree?"—a girl asked the head priest.

"Yes, we used to climb up the tree in full moon night while dating and we still doing it after we got married."—the head priest said back with a small blush. Even thought she was already over a hundred years old, no one knows why she managed to maintain her youthful appearance.

"Hey guys, I found something."—Add shouted to call for Ara and Elesis. The foliage of the tree covered almost everything on the sky when they stood under it.

"I bet we can see the moon clearly from up there."—after checking that no one was around, the 3 climbed up the ladder. It led to the middle part of the tree where the branches separate. They moved carefully on the biggest branch to climb higher, when the foliage was under them, the giant moon hanging on the night sky appeared before their eyes.

"Many things in the past I wanted to forget, but I just simply can't. But today, everything that we did today, I'll always remember it."—Add smiled, closing his eyes. They waited for another 10 minutes and climbed down. The cloud carried by the wind then covered the moon so everything suddenly went black.

"Careful on the way down guys."—Add said forming a small electrical orb in his palm to light up the surrounding. When Ara looked around to find the ladder, a family or Ruchi leaving on the tree foliage surprised her. She lost her balance and fell from the tree branch.

"Ara!"—Add immediately jumped after her and caught her in time. He caught her with his right arm while his left arm holding onto the tree branch. But Elesis thought it was a game so she also jumped down to join the fun.

"Just why the heck do you have to jump down with us?"—Add scowled , releasing his grip on the tree branch and caught Elesis.

"Hang on! This gonna be a bumpy ride!"—he said and pulled them closer to him. Luckily, the spot where they fell off was close enough to the tree trunk and the tree base was shaped like a trapezoid. Add injected the electricity into his legs muscles and slid down. The 3 managed to land safely, on Add legs got paralyzed because of the use of electricity as stimulant.

"Add-kun! Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?"

"Maybe I need to train more on using this power as stimulant. And next time, don't jump off a tree because it looks fun."—he turned to Elesis. Back on the tree, on a branch was a shadow hiding himself in the dark. When the cloud passed and the moon revealed itself once more, the light shone down on the shadow, revealing his identity.

"The urban legend of this Shrine had a hidden sequel. The reason the man family banned him from having any relationship with the girl because her family was poor, but there was one more reason. They appointed the man with another girl. That girl also fell deeply in love with him, but in his mind only the other girl exist. After finding out about the death of the man she love, the second girl suicide the following day."—Feuer said to himself from the tree branch looking into his notebook while writing something down in it.

"Add-kun, right now you have 2 girls with their eyes on you. So, who will you choose?"—he said closing his notebook.

Meanwhile, somewhere far away from the Shrine but also familiar. Glave stepped through the door opened by 2 man. He walked inside, his only golden eye that visible through his mask shone brightly in the darkness of the room that he entered.

"Thank you for all of you to come here. Now, let the meeting of the El Academy and 'The Council' begin."—he said as the door closed behind him, hiding all of it secret with the outside world.

* * *

**Shiraga:** that it for chapter 10. After this, my update might be not as frequently like now because, you know, real life stuff. But be assure that i'll keep updating new chapter. Later folks


	11. Chapter 11: Double date

**Shiraga: **longest...chapter...ever...RIP my fingers

enjoy folks, now I need some serious rest

* * *

**Chapter 11: Double Date**

* * *

"Eve-sama, the sun has risen."—in front of the large wooden door, Chung knocked on it to call for his master. Inside, Eve was still lying on her queen size bed. After hearing the servant call, she sat up, rubbing her eyes and allowed Chung to come in. Chung, in his servant suit, a black coat with white shirt inside and a black bow tie, walked inside pushing a small dining car.

"Your morning tea, my lady."—he handed over a cup of tea to Eve. While the princess sipping on her tea, Chung placed a small table on her bed and putted the knives and folks and finally the breakfast.

"Chung, what is today schedule?"—Eve asked while cutting the big piece of meat on her plate and putted it in her mouth.

"At 9:00 you will have your art lesson, 10:30 will be your piano lesson, at 14:00 you will have a meeting with Rod Ross to discuss about the forming a contract with his company. And that it for today."—Chung reported to Eve while checking the holographic screen on his watch. After Eve finished her breakfast, the phone rang.

"This is the Seraphia house…Eve-sama."—after picking up the phone, Chung handed it over to Eve.

"This is Eve-"

"EVEEEEEEEE-CHAAAAAAN! HOW DO YOU DO? DO YOU MISS ME? BUT I DO! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH THAT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERY NIGHT!"—an energetic voice from the other side of the line shouted into the phone, but Eve was already prepared for these kind of situations so she covered the phone until the voice died down.

"Did you just cover the phone while I was expressing my feeling to you? So meany Eve-chan!'

"What is it, mother? If you call back home this early in the morning just to say these things then I'll hang off the phone."—she replied coldly to the one that she called 'mother'.

"Mou~ I just wanted to have some mother-daughter conversation with you, is it really that hard?"—her mother pouted.

"Okay, so what is it that you wanted to say?"—Eve sighed.

"I just want to check on you. The amount of work here are endless and I haven't been back home like forever. But good news is I'll be back soon, just 3 more days!"

"Mother, did you dump your work on your assistance and sneak out while no one was noticing?"

"W-w-what are you talking about? O-of course not! Why would I do that?"

"_Sound like you are, mother."_

"Anyway, when I'm back, I'll give my Eve-chan a really big hug. Oh just thinking about it make me trembling with joy!"—and her mother kept going on and on with her daughter complex.

"And one more thing, Eve-chan. Do you have anyone in your mind yet?"

"By 'in my mind', what do you mean, mother?"

"Oh, you know, boyfriend."—as her mother mention the word, Eve choked on her tea and coughed several times.

"Oops, I have to go now, see you later, Eve-chan. And I wanted to see your boyfriend when I'm back!"

"W-wait mothe-"—but before Eve could say another word, her mother already hanged up the phone. All these events took in one hour. Now let go back 1 hour earlier, in a different place.

* * *

"Lu-sama, it morning already."—Lu knocked on the door to Lu room. He waited for 5 minutes and no response.

"Sorry for my intrusion."—he said and turned the knuckle on the door then walked inside with a small dining car. Lu was laying on her bed, hugging a pillow while drooling.

"Lu-sama."—Ciel shook her slightly. Lu opened half of her eye and glanced at him.

"Hmmm…just 5 more minutes…"—she said then pulled the blanket on to cover her face.

"Last time you also say that but you woke up 5 hours later."—Ciel said with a sigh. But while he was complaining, Lu had already went back to sleep.

"Look like I need to do this the hard way."—he said then walked to the window and pulled the curtain open. After placing some pillows into a large area on the floor, he grabbed the blanket and pulled it with all his might. Lu got launched into the air and landed down on the pillow area.

"Aaaaaah! My eyes! They burn!"—the sunlight shone right into her eyes. She covered her eyes and started rolling on the floor.

"So, are you awake yet, Lu-sama?"

"YES! No thanks to you Ciel!"

"_Never know that this trick work so well. Thank you, Feuer-kun."_

"Your usual, hot chocolate with extra milk."—Ciel poured the milk into the steaming cup of hot chocolate and handed it to Lu. In just one sip, Lu drank all of the glass content and gave it to Ciel asking for more. Ciel placed the table on the bed and placed her favorite breakfast on the table.

"Ah~ nothing better than the smell of hot pancake and melting butter on it in the morning."—after having her nostril full with the smell of the food, instead of cutting the pancake into small piece, Lu cut it into half and shoved it into her mouth.

"This is your today schedule: 8:30 you will have a meeting with a business partner from a friendly company, 10:00 we will have a side trip at the Velder mall as the manager of requested for our opinion to improve it. In the afternoon-"—Ciel was reading the schedule to Lu then the phone on the table rang.

"This is the Sourcream family…Yes, I'll give it to her. Lu-sama, your mother call."—when the word mother came to her ear, Lu placed her favorite cup of hot chocolate down and snatched the phone from Ciel.

"Mom!"

"Hi there Lu-chan. How have you been?"

"I'm fine! What about you?"

"The doctor said that my condition had improved a lot. And they let me have a vacation far away from the hospital, so I guess I can go home for a few days."

"That is great news Mom! When you come home, I'll show you around the town. We will chat with each other all day long until we fell asleep!"

"Seeing that you are doing well, I'm so happy, Lu-chan. I wish I could be a better mother if it wasn't for this disease of mine."

"Don't say that Mom. You are the best mother in both Elrios and demon realm."

"Oh, actually, there is one thing that I wanted to see when I'm back."

"What is it mom? I'll do anything if that can make you happy."

"Glad you say that. So the thing I wanted to see is…Lu-chan boyfriend."—and Lu mother said the word. Lu was sipping on her hot chocolate, so she thought that she misheard the word.

"Um…Mom, can you repeat it?"

"I wanted to see your boyfriend."—at the second time, she knew that she heard it right. Lu spitted the chocolate out of her mouth toward Ciel, but the butler was already well prepared. He opened an umbrella and blocked the hot chocolate.

"The doctor called. I have to go now Lu-chan. See you later."—the she hanged off the phone, leaving Lu still shocking with the phone in her hand. And now the clock hit 8:00 in the morning.

"Ciel!"

"Chung."

"Cancel every appointment on today schedule. I need to find a solution to this."—even thought living in 2 houses across the city, Eve and Lu said the same thing at the same time.

"Even thought I said I need to find a solution…"—Eve said to herself while putting her clothes on. She putted one of her finger on her forehead, tapping on it to think of a way.

"…But this is just so sudden, I don't even know where to look."—Lu said while walking around her room.

"A boyfriend? Mother is being ridiculous again."—Eve.

"I know that Mom is weak and she wanted to have someone to be by my side to help me with the company soon. But…"—Lu.

"I'll have a serious talk with mother later. First thing first, I need to deal with this stupid problem."—Eve.

"But who should I discuss this with?"—Lu.

"_Chung won't work. She already knew about him. And I cannot ask anyone in school either."_—Eve.

"_Even if it just a fake one, I need to find someone that suit the Sourcream name."_—Lu.

The 2 girls kept walking around their room thinking for a way while their butler stood on the side. After 5 minutes of walking restlessly, they finally came up with a solution.

"That it! If it him then it might work!"—Lu.

"I hate to admit it, but this is the only possible solution right now."—Eve.

The 2 then picked up their phone, dialed the number and waited for the response as if the other side of the line is their savior, well, literally. After pressing the last number, their phone received the signal, traveled inside the wire, onto the antenna and the disk sent the signal away. Flew at speed of light, the signal quickly reached the destination, and the phone of the receiver rang.

"Mmm…Z…Z…Z"—the receiver was still on his bed, with his face wedging in his pillow. The phone rang again and again, until the silver hair male got woke up completely.

"Gah! Dang it! Why would anyone call this early in the morning?"—he picked up his phone and checked the number on it.

"What so early in the morning Lu? This better be good enough to ruin my sleep."—he scowled into the phone.

"What? Your Mom is coming home…so you wanted to do something for her…and she wanted to see you with…WHAT?...I'm going to call Feue…do not tell anyone else? Yeaaaaaah, nope. Okay, I'm gonna hang up now."—he said and about to hit the 'End Call' button.

"Lu-sama, the cookies are ready."—he heard Ciel voice on the other side of the line with the word 'cookies', so he putted the phone back near his ear.

"Give me 5 minutes, I'll be right there."—he hanged off the phone and immediately got down from his bed and changed his clothes. He opened the door and walked down stair quietly. He peeped into the kitchen to see if anyone was inside, and the one that was supposed to be inside at this time every morning was nowhere to be found. Then he noticed a small piece of paper near the tray of breakfast.

" 'I'll be out for today and might come home late.'? Oh well, need to get going fast."—he read the piece of paper, finished his breakfast and putted it into the sink, everything done in 2 minutes.

"Let see, Lu house is about more than 3 kilometer from here. Turn left 3 times, 5 times right, and the amount of people on the street right now is not very crowded. Good, all set."—after checking the map on the device, he shoved it back into his pocket and crouched down like an athlete at the starting line.

He closed his eyes to concentrate as his body started to glow with purple electricity. The electricity covered his whole body, but he concentrated most of them on his legs. Done with the preparation, he opened his eyes and stomped his feet on the ground. He bolted on the road almost like a comet, the shockwave from the electric burst broke some nearby windows.

"Oops, too much power again."—he knocked his head slightly and kept running. He turned right once, then left, passed the crowd on the street, 2 times right, the final corner he turned left, and he reached the Sourcream mansion door. He reached the destination in 2 minutes 54 seconds, still 6 seconds left to spare.

The maid that was sweeping the yard saw him at the door, so she walked over and open it.

"Good morning, Add-sama."

"I told you guys to stop with the 'sama' part already."—he said while huffing for air. The door of the building then opened and Lu with Ciel walked outside. Still not done with resupplying the air for his lungs yet, he rushed over at Ciel.

"W…where…is the…COOKIES?"—he asked while his face expression looks almost like a hungry carnivore.

* * *

Now let turn the clock back to several minutes earlier, on Feuer side.

"Yosh, that should do it."—he said after checking the temperature of the food inside the pan. He turned off the flame and took the apron off.

"Add-kun! Bre- Hm? Strange number?"—he was about to call Add for breakfast, his phone rang and it was a strange number.

"Hello? Oh, morning, Eve-dono. Do you need somethi-…Urgent? Okay, I'll get going now."—he said then turned off the phone Putting the breakfast on the table and the small piece of paper, he left the house in quiet as Eve requested to keep this as a secret as long as possible. He checked the map on his phone for Eve house and grabbed his bike. 30 minutes of cycling and he reached a big steel door with the 'Seraphia' name on it.

"Can I help you?"—the speaker on the door asked.

"Um, I'm here to see Eve-dono."—Feuer responded. The door opened and he walked inside. In the middle of the front yard was a big fountain with a statue of an angel standing on the top. On the left side was a labyrinth made of tree bushes. Judging from the shape of the bushes and the quality of the leaves, the labyrinth was taken care usually by the hand of an artist. The right side was a small tea table under a big tree, with several funny looking statues.

But for a house this big, it was quiet, too quiet. No sign of worker, servant or any maid. Feuer kept walking and when he reached the fountain, 2 shadows appeared from the tree foliage and the labyrinth. One was a male with red hair and a red tie while the other was a girl with long blue hair tied into a pony tail and a blue bow tie. They rushed at Feuer and attacked him. He threw his bike at them which got broke into half the next second while he leaped back.

"Aw man, I just feel like having a trip around the town on my bike."—he said looking at the remains of his poor bike. No waiting for him to recover, the 2 figures rushed at him again. The male threw a jab while the girl swept the ground with her leg. Feuer leaped back a few more steps to dodge the attack.

"First time I see someone beside me and Add-kun can fight this simultaneously. But now I'm having number disadvantage. Guess no time to learn their attack pattern."—he sighed with a small dry smile. He rushed at the 2 figures and threw multiple kicks in the middle to separate them. His intention was to leave an opening to lure them to hit that spot, and use their own attack to counter them. As expected, the male saw the opening and threw his punch. Feuer immediately turned around and grabbed his hand, using the momentum from his opponent and his own strength, he did another 180 degree spin and threw the male away.

But right at the moment when he grab the male arm and about to spin, the girl appeared from behind. She was using the red hair male as a camouflage. She immediately threw a kick aiming at Feuer head. Not enough time to react, Feuer released his left arm and used it to change the direction of the kick. It was a close one, the kick was strong, stronger than Chloe, strong enough that even though it missed his face, but the force from it was as sharp as a sword. The spot on his cheek where the kick passed by started to bleed. He threw the 2 away and leaped back.

"Guess normal tactic won't work on you guys."—he wiped the blood away and stood straight up. He relaxed his body while slowly inhaled and then exhaled. The flame then built up around his body, but instead of their normal red color, the flame changed to a slightly more yellowish color.

"Vermillion Feather."—the yellow flame then formed a glowing aura around him. The aura emitting from his body, the fire around it looked almost like they were burning feathers. He drew his legs on the ground while his palms formed into a claw like shape. He rushed at the 2 assailants again and just like the last attempt, he threw multiple kicks to separate them. The male delivered a punch at the opening spot, and he grabbed his hand attempting to throw him away.

The girl rushed behind using the male as camouflage, but then Feuer appeared right in front of her and thrust his palm forward. The girl looked around to find the male and noticed that he already got sent flying away. She threw her kick and Feuer countered with his. The girl kick was strong, but a small flame detonated behind Feuer leg and like a plane engine, it pushed Feuer leg forward and he kicked the girl away, toward where the other male was lying.

" ' _Vermillion Feather' can temporarily increase my speed with the use of my fire, but it puts great strain on pressure on the joints. Normally I can only last in this state for 5 minutes, but look like these 2 won't go down without a good fight."_—he thought to himself while calculating the time and proper tactic to take down the 2 fighters.

"That enough, Ignis, Leviathan."—the 3 suddenly halted as they heard the sound of someone clapping their hands. The turned to the door of the mansion and saw Eve was walking toward with Chung following behind. The 2 attackers immediately bowed down as they saw their master.

"He is my guest today, you 2 knew that and still insist?"—Eve scolded the 2.

"Our apology, Eve-sama. We know that you asked him, but even if it just for a fake boyfriend, we cannot let any them have any harm to the 'Seraphia' name. That is why we must test him to make sure he is not some half-ass peasant."—the male explained.

"I'll make an exception this time, but these kind of action will not be forgave if happen again."—Eve said to the 2 which they nodded back. Then they scattered and returned to work.

"They must really worry about you to do this without asking."—Feuer laughed while walking inside with Eve.

"They are the guardian of 'Seraphia'. ALong with Chung family, their families had been serving my house for a very long time. But sometime they are just overreacting. How is your injury?"

"Nothing to worry about. So what about all this 'fake boyfriend' that those 2 mentioned earlier? Does it have anything to do with what you wanted to discuss with me?"—Feuer asked when they entered the living room. Eve ordered Chung to prepare the tea and motioned for Feuer to sit down.

"The thing that I'm about to tell you, take it as a personal request from me, Eve Seraphia, not from the President of the Student Council."—she said with a serious expression.

"I need you to become my boyfriend."—Feuer was listening carefully, then the thing that Eve requested made him paralyzed with a poker face. He remained the shocked expression until Chung walked in and placed the tea tray down.

"Ah! S…sorry, that was…a bit shocking I guess."

"No, my apology. I should explain to you from the start. Have you heard of the 'Seraphia Inc'?"

"A very famous company. Their power reaches very far in many essential fields. It is said that they can rival even the 'Sourcream' which is a multi dimension company."

"Yes. My mother is the supreme manager of the Seraphia Inc, and I am her heir."

"Wow, I can pretty much guess your family status by looking at how you do at school, but never know that your house was this big."—Feuer said in awe while taking a tea cup from Chung.

"I'm currently asking my Mother to let me solve some of the company problems by myself so I can be prepared when taking over the company. But she still insisted that I need someone to help me beside Chung. And recently she wanted to see me with a boyfriend. So I need your help."—Eve let out all her thought while Feuer and Chung putted on the gas mask because while talking, Eve was literally burning with anger.

"She must have been hiding all of her emotion for a very long time."

"Eve-sama, she always acts strong on the outside, she created an invisible wall to isolate herself from the other. Just to show her mother what she is capable of. But she is very lonely and fragile inside."-Chung said and turned to Feuer.

"So please, Feuer-sama. I beg for you, please break down the wall that is isolating Eve-sama."—Chung bowed his head down. Feuer finished his tea and placed the cup down.

"She is a friend too, even thought Add-kun might, no probably will protest, so I'll help without condition. But can you stop with the 'sama' part? It kinda awkward when your name being called with that."—the 2 finished their conversation just in time Eve calmed down a bit, so they took off the gas mask.

"Even thought my Mother said she wanted to see my boyfriend badly, but she is not an easy person to deal with. Until she comes back, we will have 3 days. In that time, I'll give you a special training."—Eve said pointing her finger at Feuer as the 2 from earlier, Ignis and Leviathan lifted Feuer up.

"T-training?"—he said as he felt a very not good feeling.

"They will train you to become a real noble man. Be prepared because these trainings are not easy."—Chung then opened the door while Ignis and leviathan dragged Feuer out of the room. They dragged him passed the hallway and tossed him inside a very big room with 4 maids waiting inside.

"First thing: the appearance."—Ignis said as the 3 maids started taking measurements on Feuer body.

"People usually say 'Never judge a book by it cover'. That only works in the normal world. In this world, your appearance and how you look play a very important role. If you look good, you will leave a very good first impression to those you meet. And especially when you are going with Eve-sama, we will make you become the most flawless being on earth."—at the speed of light, the 3 maids done with taking the measurements and began making a new suit for him.

When the 3 maids completed the suit, they took off Feuer clothes and putted the new suit on him against his will. Later on of his life, when thinking about the event, he wrote down into his notebook with a trembling hand: "I felt like I was being harassed. No, I was definitely being harassed!"

"Not too shabby right?"—Ignis asked while Feuer looked at himself in the mirror.

" 'Clothes make a man'. Yup, those from the previous generation were right."—Leviathan added on.

"Next, we need to adjust your hair style."—not waiting for Feuer to react, they dragged him to a big table with 3 mirrors and putted him down on the chair. The 3 maids had already readied their scissors, combs, hair gel and other make up stuff that Feuer had never seen before.

"Um, can you do this without those things? Eve-dono asked to keep this a secret, but if you throw all those things on me, Add-kun will certainly notice."—Feuer words somehow worked magically. He said it before the 3 maids rushed in like little girls about to butcher their doll, and his word saved him just in time.

"Well, if you put it that way. We will see what we can do."—they said then untied Feuer ponytail.

"Wow, just look at your hair. They are gorgeous! It so silky! How did you take care of your hair so good?"

"When I was little, my Mom loves to comb my hair whenever she gets the chance. I usually insist but can never escape from her. Now, she is somewhere faraway. Sometime I wish that I let her takes care hair a bit more back then."

"Oh…W-we are sorry for making you remember bad memories."—the 3 maids bowed their head.

"It okay, I was the one that decided to say it. So, any idea for the hair style yet?"—putting the sad story aside, the 3 maids returned to making a new hair style. They tied his hair into 2 smaller ponytails, and his front proportion was pushed back using gel.

"Behold, Feuer No 2!"—the maids said while showing Feuer his appearance after changing: new suit, new hair style. Now he looks more like someone from a noble family.

"But we are not done with your training yet! In the noble world, a good appearance always goes with many good skills."—they said and dragged him out of the room and into the garden.

"Art! Feel the wind, the surrounding, the animals, the nature around you, pour your feeling into it and convey it through your picture!"—Leviathan said with great enthusiasm placed a picture frame down in front of Feuer and gave him the painting brush. But without letting him finish his painting, after 30 minutes the 2 dragged him away from his chair. When thinking about the events again, he also wrote down into his notebook: "First I got harassed, then I got kidnapped. Life sure is a long chain of surprise that coming at you when you least expected!"

They dragged him out of the front garden and to the back of the house. When they stopped, Feuer saw a small house made of mostly wood. Leviathan opened the door while Ignis threw him up into the air. But instead of the ground, Feuer landed on a very well made saddle.

"Horse riding! While flowers show the elegance of a lady, riding on the horse show a man grandeur!"—Ignis said and whistled to signal the horse to run. Feuer tightened his grip on the reins while the horse ran around the yard. Seeing Feuer as a stranger, the horse went rampage and tried to shake him off it back. Now the horse riding training for nobility looks more like a horse riding show of the wild west.

The show went on for 3 hours, and finally both the rider and the mount dropped to the ground, huffing. Without letting Feuer rest, the 2 dragged him back into the mansion. Passed the long hallway again and into the door at the end of the end. They putted him down on the chair with the longest table that he had ever seen in front of him with Eve and Chung at the other end.

Leviathan clapped her hand, from another door in the corner, the maids and servants walked out one after another, with dishes in their hand. They putted the dishes down on the table and opened the cover. The aroma of the food immediately filled the room. Taking a few sniff, Feuer could tell the skill of the chef as he is also one at the Glitter Hunter.

"Eating! You cannot show your nobility if with an empty stomach. But the way you eat is also important."—the 2 said then placed several knives and folks on the table. Feuer stared at the set of shining silver utensils with great confusion of how to use them right.

"First, you use a folk to hold the food. Then with the knife on your free hand, cut them out into smaller piece."—the 2 showed him how to do it by stabbing the folk into the piece of meat on the plate, while using the knife to cut it into smaller piece. After getting a hang of the basic, Feuer quickly finished the dish to compensate for all the loss of his energy earlier.

"How was the food?"—Eve asked from across the table, sipping her tea while the maids and servants taking the dishes away.

"It was delicious."—then in the afternoon, the training continued with many more nobility stuff. Eve wasn't exaggerating, the training could literally be called hell. But compared to the training that Add was currently having, Feuer training was a bit easier.

"I told you already! You must address me with softer voice!"

"How do you expect a yankee to use a soft voice? How can that even help you in a fight? Call out your enemies name until they scream for help because of awkwardness and beg for your mercy?"

"Well this is a good chance for you to start using it!"

"Dang it! If it wasn't because of those cookies, I would never been here in the first place!"

* * *

And their training went on for 3 days. Every day when they returned home, Add couldn't explain why Feuer looks more tired than usual and same goes with Feuer couldn't explain why Add always return with lots of cookies. 3 days, time flew like an arrow. Right at 7:30 in the morning, Add and Feuer immediately leave the house and ran to 2 different directions. Feuer arrived at the 'Seraphia' house and noticed a long line of servants and maids at the front door, with Eve and Chung standing in the middle.

"Just how many worker you have exactly?"

"300 maids and 300 servants."—Eve replied. A sound of engine then came from faraway. Eve signaled for Feuer to stand next to Chung, right behind her. The sound kept getting closer, and closer. But nothing was rolling on the road. They all then felt a strong gust of wind from above. They looked up and saw a helicopter was hovering above them. The door of the helicopter opened and a woman jumped out from it.

"EVEEEEE-CHAAAAAAAAN!"—she shouted while diving in mid air a bit before opening her parachute. The parachute slowed down her fall, but having her feeling restrained for too long, when reaching the appropriate height, she ejected from the parachute, did several body spins in mid air and landed down on the ground.

"EVEEEEE-CHAAAAAAAAAN!"—she screamed Eve name again while rushing forward to embrace her daughter in a hug. Eve dodged her assault, but her mother was faster. She immediately changed direction and caught Eve into her arm.

"Oh I missed you so much! Eve-chan!"—she said while brushing her cheek against Eve.

"Welcome back, Nasadia-sama."—Chung bowed his head as he received Eve SOS signal to get her out of her mother arm.

"Oh, Chung-chan, long time no see."—she said patting his head. Then she noticed Feuer.

"Oh my el. Eve-chan! So you DO have a boyfriend! I'm so happy, my girl had grew up so fast!"

"A pleasure to meet you, Nasadia-san. I am Feuer, Feuer Klugheit."—Feuer said while putting a hand on his chest and bowed down.

"So, Feuer-chan, what do you think about my daughter? Her breast might be small, but she is still growing."

"Mother!"

"I'm just kidding! No matter if your breasts are flat or big, I'll still love you. Now let get inside so we can have a better chat."—Eve mother suggested.

"So, Feuer-chan, how long have you and my daughter being a couple?"—she asked when they moved into the living room.

"Since the middle of 1st year. Eve-san is in the Student Council, so I received a lot of help from her."

"But he also helped me back, Mother. And before we know, we are already more than friends."—they all both had came up with an act to fool Eve mother. Eve mother, Nasadia nodded. They thought that their plan had worked out perfectly, until Nasadia activated her trap card.

"The love of a student and the Student Council President that bloomed from helping each other. But have you 2 go one a date yet?"—Eve had expected a counter from her mother, but for the Ice Queen that knows not even the least about love of a couple, this was unexpected.

"D-d-d-d-date?'—she stuttered.

"What? Are you telling me you had been a couple for more than a year and you 2 still haven't go on a single date?"

"Because the work of Student Council is always full on the list, so we couldn't find any appropriate day to do so."—realizing the situation, Feuer jumped in the conversation.

"My my my, that is not good, not good at all."—Nasadia said. She putted a hand on her chin and started thinking. Then she snapped her finger as a brilliant idea flashed in her mind.

"Then it is decided. You 2 will go on a date tomorrow!"

* * *

-Sourcream Mansion, several minutes earlier—

After leaving the house and using the same method, Add reached the Sourcream mansion in 3 minutes. He saw all the maids and servants had lined up into 2 lines at the gate, with Lu and Ciel in the middle.

"Remember our training Add."—Lu reminded.

"Yeah yeah, and you remember our deal."—Add replied. Then they heard the sound of a car coming. When the car came into sight, it was a black limousine. A very, very, very long black limousine. After the car stopped, the driver got off from his seat and walked to the very back of the car and opened the door. A woman with white hair, braided into a ponytail hanging over her left shoulder stepped out.

"Welcome home, Helle-sama."—the maids and servants bowed their head in union.

"Long time no see, everyone. And long time no see, Lu-chan."

"Mom!"—Lu shouted and rushed forward to hug her mother.

"I missed you so much!"

"I do too, Lu-chan."

"Welcome home, Helle-sama."—Ciel greeted politely.

"Hello, Ciel-san. Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"Long time no see, Helle-san."—Add waved his hand.

"Oh my, if it isn't Add-chan. You last time I see you, you were still a little."—she said while brushing her fingers through Add messy white hair. The other servants proceeded to carry the luggage inside the house, while Lu and her mother took a tour around the house as Helle had been away from the Sourcream mansion for too long.

"How long has it been, since I last walking along this hallway, touching these walls, meeting all the familiar faces."—Helle said to herself while walking around the familiar yet strange space in the house. Being gone for too long because of her health condition, she forgot some details like where is the library, but the places where she spent her time with Lu and her father, she still remember deeply. End of the tour, they sat down on the big sofa in the living room while Lu tell her mother about how much things had changed since she left.

"So, how have you 2 been so far?"—she asked while Ciel serving the tea.

"I-it been good so far. We spent time together at school whenever we have the chance. R-right Add?"

"Y-yes, that right, Helle-san!"—Add said. The 2 acted according to the play that they made up, but neither of them can make it sound natural. Seeing that her mother started to suspect, Lu glanced at Add and signaled him to do something. Add, pushing his genius mind to it limit to find a solution.

"A-a-as you can see, Helle-san. We are a lovey dovey couple."—Add said putting his arm on Lu shoulder to pull her in closer. Even thought she was the one who asked, being surprised by his act, Lu arm followed her instinct and gave Add an elbow hit to his side.

"So have you 2 go on a date yet?"—and the deadliest question came. Add spitted the cookie in his mouth out hearing the question.

"W-we wanted to, but the company work and school stuff are always overload so we didn't have time yet."

"Is that so? Well, the tour around the town can wait. Lu-chan, Add-chan, how about a date by tomorrow?"

And from 2 places destined across the town, 2 girls screamed their lungs out after hearing the suggestion that their mother made.

"WHAAAAAAT?"

The day went on with the mothers being over excited for the next day while the daughters and their fake boyfriends desperately finding a new solution as all their plans had gone vain. Night came, the 2 boys returned to their house, both being completely exhausted so they didn't talk to each other but moved back to their own room. They dropped themselves on their bed, facing the ceiling.

"Hey, Feuer."—Add called from his room.

"Yes?"

"Where have you been these recent days? If you don't want to say, it fine."

"Sorry, I can't tell you. But after tomorrow, I have something to tell you."

"Yeah, me too. Well, sleep soon. Tomorrow is gonna be a long day."—then the 2 closed their eyes, and forced themselves to sleep.

"_Tomorrow, Velder Mall at 8."_

* * *

The night passed, and the morning came with the sun. The 2 woke up early, done with the self hygiene and adorned themselves with more fashion clothes than usual. Add with a black sleeveless jacket and a white T-shirt inside, and a pair of jeans with a small chain on his left. Feuer putted on a light red shirt, an arm band and a pair of trousers with his bag hanging diagonally. After checking their appearance in front of the mirror, they left the house. They walked to 2 opposite directions, but their destination was the same, the Velder Mall down town.

They both arrived at 7:55, but their meeting spots were different. Feuer and Eve met at the North gate while Add and Lu met at the South gate.

"Sorry for the wait."—Feuer waved at Eve when they met in front of the North gate.

"It okay, I also just arrived."—the 2 then noticed something were moving in the bushes and on the trees across the street since they arrived. They immediately turned their head around and saw some maids, servant and Eve mother, Nasadia were hiding in the bushes.

"Look like your Mom wanted to see her daughter first date with her own eyes."—Feuer said while Eve sighed.

"Let just…go inside first."—she said then turned around and started walking. Feuer ran after and grabbed Eve hand.

"W-what are you…?"

"If you wanted to fool your mother, you have to make as if we are a real couple. Holding hand is common thing that couple do."—Feuer smiled as his fingers moved to interlock with Eve fingers, to which she turned her face away to hide the blushing on her face.

"I can never tell what you peasants have in mind."—if they didn't know the story, everyone would be fooled that the 2 were real couple. While on the other side of the mall, at the South gate. Add met up with Lu and with the same situation, Helle and other workers in Sourcream mansion also followed them. Add showed his hand to signal Lu to hold it. But holding hand made this unbalanced couple looks even weirder. They look more like 2 sibling with Add being the big brother while Lu being the little sister more than a couple. Feeling like someone was mocking her height, Lu stomped her feet down on Add feet hard.

"What was that for?"—Add shouted.

"Nothing,"—she said then dragged Add into the mall.

"Is this the first time you go to a mall like this, Eve-san?"—Feuer asked while adjusting the honorific to fit with the couple theme to fool the stalkers.

"Yes, it is indeed my first time. Usually if I need anything, I just tell Chung and he will make the call. It actually easier than going to the mall like this."

"But choosing the thing that you want by yourself is much better."

"I do not see how that seems better."

"If that the case, then today I'll show you the fun of 'peasant' world."—he smiled a big smile and dragged Eve hand into a shop nearby.

"Welcome, customer. Oh may, aren't you 2 a lovely couple? So how can I help you 2 love birds today?"—the owner of the shop asked the 2.

"What are all these things?"—Eve asked while looking at the accessories behind the glass and on the wall.

"They are small accessories that you can use to pair with your clothes. They come with many shapes and sizes."—the owner explained. While Eve still examining at all the small funny looking accessories, Feuer whispered something into the owner ears and she nodded back with a smile.

"Have you found anything fit your appetite yet?"—Feuer asked.

"Unfortunately, no."—she said back shaking her head slightly.

"Well, how about this one?"—Feuer picked up a small hairclip and putted it on Eve hair.

"What do you know, it fits very well."—the owner of the shop said after examining Eve with her professional eyes.

"I'll take the hair clip and the thing from earlier."

"That will be 15,000 ED total."—Feuer grabbed his wallet and putted the money on the counter. The owner gave him a small pack with the thing that he requested earlier. He returned to Eve while she running her finger along the shape of the hairclip.

"Can I borrow your phone a bit?"—Feuer asked. Eve didn't understand what he was planning but to avoid the stalkers behind them having any suspicion, she just gave him her phone. He took the phone and pulled the thing inside the small pack out. With some hand motion, he returned the phone to Eve with a small white accessory on it.

"Your is Remy, mine is Moby. These 2 are accessories that go by pair especially for couple."—Feuer explained.

"T-thank you."—she whispered after they continued walking.

"My my, that boy sure knows how to treat a lady. And I have never seen Eve-chan have such expression."—Nasadia said to herself while drooling and with her camera in hand. While on the other side of the mall, Add and Lu were arguing with each other whether to visit the pet shop or the clothe shop first. After a battle of rock, paper, scissor, Add won and they decided to visit the pet shop first.

"They sure get along well."—Helle said from behind the fountain. Her words made all the maids and servant stared at her full of awkward as couple was clearly not getting along with each other, not even a bit.

"Next stop, the movie."—Feuer said and the 2 walked inside the theater.

"Which one do want to see?"—the 2 stood in front of the posters on the wall advertising the currently available movie. Eve examined all the posters for a bit and pointed her index finger at the poster on the right.

"You sure you want to see this?"—Feuer warned. Even thought she didn't know what type of movie it was, she just nodded anyway.

"2 tickets for 'Velder Hallucination' please."—Feuer said to the theater conductor and placed the money on the counter. He also bought 2 drinks and a pack of popcorn. The 2 entered the dark room of the theater and got to their seats. After a while, the movie started. It was a horror movie. The events take place in Velder, but in the near future, the city got invaded by a mad demon scientist, everyone in the city got infected by his chemical and turned into monster. A group of 9 survivors that luckily immune to the infection must put a stop to the madness.

"_Somehow the mad scientist in this movie looks familiar to Joaquin-sensei to a very freaky degree."_—Feuer thought to himself at the scene where the mad scientist shows up.

"Above average graphic, the music is not even the best, the content was used by many previous movies, and the makeup make it looks even more fake."—just after 30 minutes of the film, Eve had already pointed out all the flaw in her criticism.

"How can they make anyone scare with such quality?"—even thought she said that, when the mad scientist greatest experiment suddenly appears, Eve unintentionally shut her eyes and cling to Feuer arm. But the film was interrupted by several flashes from a camera from the line of seat not too far behind them. The 2 exited the theater and continued on their date. The more Feuer side looks like a real couple, the more Add side looks like a fake couple because of his and Lu constant quarrel, and surprisingly, Helle didn't even suspect a bit. When the sun reached the top of the head, Eve sat down near the fountain to rest.

"Here you go."—Feuer said handing over a crepe that he brought from the stand nearby.

"So, have today changed your opinion on the 'peasant' world yet?"

"I must admit, a lot of thing I have never experienced before."—she said. Suddenly, a truck bolted into the mall. After it stopped, several men in mask jumped out with guns in their hand. A man pointed the gun into the sky and released a barrage of bullet.

"Everyone on the floor now! Disobey I'll drill some sense into you with my gun!"—he shouted while everyone in the mall started panicking. Then 4 more trucks entered the mall from 4 directions and shut down the gates to prevent their hostages to escape and to prevent the police from interfering. Eve stood up and about to give the man who caused the panic a slap, but Feuer immediately grabbed her hand from behind to stop her.

"Remember, Eve-san. Today you are the queen. How do you expect me to face Nasadia-san if your hand got damaged?"

"You can still joking around at a time like this?"

"Worry not, for time being, let just lay low."—Feuer suggested. After gathering everyone in the mall into a big group at the big fountain in the center of the mall, the bandits leave 4 men to guard the hostages, 4 groups at each gates and the rest started their robbery. Everyone got their hands tied behind their back with duct tape.

On the first floor, the one that seemed to be the head of the gang took off his mask, revealing a scar on his right eye.

"Boys! Start shopping! Today our life change forever! Hahahahaha!"—he shouted with excitement and pointed his gun at a shop nearby and shot down the glass. Those that still hiding on other floor started panicking. A guard that got taken down earlier used his last bit of strength and slammed the alert button.

"You son of a!"—a bandit cursed and took the life of the guard away. The hostages also started to panic while some little kids began sobbing. Eve, angered by their action, stepped up and gave all of them a slap across their face. That was what she intended to do, but just like the rest, her hands got tied behind her back with duct tape.

After 10 minutes, the police arrived. They stopped outside the mall and formed a barrier with the cars and trucks while helicopters slowly descended down on the roof. The Commander, while all the other police wore dark blue uniform, his uniform was red and black. He stepped out of his car and turned on the megaphone.

"Those inside, surrender your weapon, put your hands behind your head and slowly step outside! And open the door too while you are at it."—the Commander said into the megaphone with a slight mocking tone. The head of the bandit picked up his radio, plugged into the control panel of the security room and started talking.

"Don't you think you are asking a bit too much, you police pest? Reconsidering your position right now, and we have hostages. If you don't want any of them to turn into cheese, then call back your helicopters now. Don't try to dare me."

"Hmp, I knew that negotiation would be useless. Call back the helicopters as soon as the S.W.A.T got deployed."—he said and threw his megaphone away.

"Sir, what about their scout on the observatory?"—a fellow police asked.

"Worry not, we got the Wind Shooter to deal with that."—he said calmly. On the rooftop of a tall building 500 meters away from the mall, a girl in special S.W.A.T uniform was stationary there with a very big bow.

"Wind blowing to the right, speed: 3 m/h. The glass thickness: 1 meter. Readjusting mana portion."—the girl mumbled and looked into her sniping scope. She concentrated her mana and formed an arrow on her right hand while the left hand aimed the bow into position.

"Target: Velder mall observatory, acquired."—after her sentence ended, she released the arrow. Cutting through the wind and flew toward it target. Pierced through the glass like a knife cutting the butter, the arrow pierced the bandit in charge of the observatory head and knocked him out immediately.

"Target eliminated."—she said into the radio to signal the Commander.

"Good. Call back the helicopters. Initiate the operation."

Meanwhile inside, the bandits almost done with gathering their loots. The head bandit smirked and picked up his radio again.

"Are you still out there, police-san? Of course you are. Well listen up. We are almost done with our shopping, so we need a pick up. Send a helicopter to the rooftop and withdraw your force now, or ewe won't go easy on the bullet."—he said and walked away from the security room.

"Tell the S.W.A.T team to speed up. We are running out of time."-the Commander ordered his subordinate while he armed himself with his beloved katana. Meanwhile inside, the kids had reached their limit. Some of them cannot hold any longer and began crying.

"Mommy, I wanna go home."—when the bandit noticed the whining of the kid, Eve immediately moved in and calmed him down.

"Don't worry, little one. We will get you out of here."

"You promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

After making sure that none of the guarding bandits had their eyes on him, Feuer ignited a small fire to burn the duct tape imprisoning his arm. The head bandit after making the announcement moved down to where the hostages were being kept.

"May I have your attention a bit, ladies and gentlemen? Since I requested a helicopter but look like your heroes outside declined the request. So I'll need your cooperation to show them who is the boss here."—he said and grabbed a woman hair, forcing her to stand up.

"Now let see how those pests out there like this."— he said and pointed the gun at the woman head. Now that the duct tape are rid of, Feuer rushed at the nearest bandit and delivered a kick into his face, sent him flying toward the wall. The other 3 bandits rushed at him, but out of nowhere, Ciel and Chung appeared and taken the 2 down. The 3rd one pointed his gun at Feuer, but before he could pull the trigger, a strong punch landed in his face and sent him flying toward the wall, next to the first one.

"Tch you pes-"—the head bandit cursed. But no matter how he tried, his finger, his arm, his muscles, his whole body, none of them could even move a bit. Then before his eyes, 2 women with white hair appeared.

"I got your muscles vital spots. You won't be able to move for about 3 days." / "The poison that I injected is enough to make even a Cutty Sark to fall. Wonder if that is the advantage of the muscle head?"

Seeing that the hostage are freed, Feuer immediately proceeded to untie Eve and the others. When he looked up to see who was his savior earlier, he saw someone that he is entirely not expected.

"Add-kun?" / "Feuer?"

4 pairs of eyes met each other. Add stared at Feuer while Lu stared at Lu.

"Now this is...awkward."—Add said to break the silent atmosphere. Lu was about to start a quarrel with Eve as why was she with Feuer and other things, but decided to save it for later.

"You are not bad yourself there."—Nasadia complimented.

"Why thank you. You are very good back there too."—Helle smiled back.

"Mom/Mother? Why are you here?"-Eve and Lu asked in union.

"Well...long story."—knowing that the truth cannot be hidden any longer, Nasadia and Helle explained to their daughter.

"We both will have a serious talk after this."—the 2 daughters scolded their mothers. After untied all the hostages, now what they all need is to let the police get inside.

"So, anyone got a plan?"—Add asked. After 5 minutes of thinking, Helle raised he hand.

"The 4 of you will go and open the gate so the police can get inside, it might be risky but I know you 4 can do it. The rest of the workers will spread out and deal with those on the other floor. Eve-san, Lu-chan, I need you to stay here and protect the hostages."—they all nodded and spread out. Add, Feuer, Ciel and Chung headed toward the 4 gates while the workers of both the Seraphia and Sourcream spread out to the other floors.

"Mom, how can you come up with a plan in such a short period of time?"—Lu asked curiously.

"It something that you will eventually learn when you wanted to sneak outside a hospital with the security of a military base."—he smiled while explaining which sent shiver down Lu spine.

"For a fake boyfriend, that boy sure is good. I almost thought that he was your real boyfriend."—Eve got startled at her mother word. Since when and how did she know that they were fake couple.

"Seeing your reaction from earlier when I mention about a date, I could tell that you 2 were acting."

"Then why did you even make us go on a date?"

"Well, let that be a lesson for you, Eve-chan. Your strength do not come from you alone, but also from the others around you."—she said and gave eve a flick on the forehead.

"From those...around you..."—she said to herself while rubbing her forehead. At the North gate, Add was bolting toward the bunch of bandits. Their guns started spitting fire at him, but none of the bullet could reach the target because they all were redirected by Add electricity field. South, West and East gate suffered the same fate. The bullets got melted by Feuer flame and got shot down by Ciel and Chung magic bullets.

"A bunch of muscular and none of you can withstand more than 2 hit?"—Add.

"Next time, do not try to mess with human life in front of me."—Feuer

"This is for ruining Eve-sama date."—Chung

"Dare threatening Lu-sama again and you will see hell."—Ciel.

They 4 pressed the button to open the gate and hid themselves in a nearby corner. The police didn't understand what just happen, but not letting the opportunity slipped away, they all moved in full force. The entire gang of bandit got arrested, but the big guy where about are unknown. After taking the testimony, all the guests were released.

On the way back, Nasadia and helle ordered the workers to return to the mansion first and let them have some personal time. They all stopped in the park. After scolding her mother a bit, Eve walked to Feuer to apology.

"But all the things you did were an act? How did you do that?"—Eve asked as she was curious about how did Feuer managed to fool even her mother. He whispered something into her ear and putted a finger on her lips.

"Let keep this as a secret between you and me."—after waving goodbye, the 2 boys returned to their home. They walked inside, and dropped themselves on the ground right after they closed the door.

"So...taht was what you wanted to tell me?"—Add asked.

"I can say the same to you, Add-kun."—Feuer replied back. The 2 remained quiet for a while, then started giggling and soon turned into a big laugh.

"Today must be the most disturbing day of our life."

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**Shiraga: **yah, i reupdated the robbing part as the last version doesnt feel satisfy at all.


	12. Chapter 12: Party of Horror

**Shiraga: **and chapter 12 is up. A small summary for this chapter: running, lot of lot of running.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Party of Horror**

* * *

"Man, the Spring break end already?"—Add yawned tiredly as the 2 boy went on their daily track to school. The Spring break had ended, many things happened during the time. Lu and Eve mother had also left, and after the incident at Velder mall, Eve had started to open up a bit to those around her, not as the Student Council President, but as Eve herself.

Every time she meets the 2, she always greets or waves at them and Feuer waves back. But Add still can't seem to get use to her new friendly demeanor. Everyone had been talking a lot about the robbery at Velder mall, and the mysterious savior that opened the gates to help the police. But none of them know that the heroes were right here, inside their school, as a normal student like any other.

The 2 boys entered the class while the other classmates still discussing about the incident at Velder mall. If it was someone else, they would start to blabbing about the heroes were them, but not these 2. They chose to stay quiet and not telling anyone, they will take the secret down to the grave with them if they have to, because they need to lay low to find the thing they need.

"Morning Add-kun, morning Feuer-kun."—then the rest of his group, Ara and Elesis came in.

"Morning Ara-dono, Elesis-dono."—Feuer greeted back while Add waved at them.

"Have you guys heard about the-"—Ara was about to ask about the news, Add was sitting at his table, clenching his fist and leaned his face on it. The 4 then heard a loud shouting in the distance and looked to the direction to see a purple human cannonball.

"ADD-KUUUUUN! FEUER-KUUUUUN!"—Aisha, the owner of the voice was flying toward them. Add opened the window and leaned backward a bit, out of Aisha way, and just as he wanted it to be, the girl flew right out of the window. After making sure that the noisy one was out of his sight, Add closed the window.

"One down, five more to go. So, what is it that you were about to say?"—Add returned to the conversation while the others stared at him, speechless because of his action. But only after 3 minutes, Aisha had returned to the class, panting heavily. Their classroom was on the 3rd floor and it took her just 3 minutes to fall down from the classroom and return.

"Make that 6 more to deal with."—Add grunted and tell Feuer to make a note.

"Back to what I said earlier, have you guys seen the news about the robbery at Velder mall?"—Ara question make the 2 boys startled a bit and stopped what they were doing.

"Y-yes, we heard of it. About the mysterious heroes that helped the police right?"—Add stuttered a bit.

"I wondered who are they, How they look like."—Ara.

"I bet they must be a secret organization or something."—Aisha.

"Sadistic people…I guess."—Elesis.

The 3 girls began to describe the mysterious heroes from their imagination. Add and Feuer couldn't help but giggled at some parts while facepalming at other parts. Ciel and Chung somehow started to sneeze constantly. The school bell then sounded and Hagus walked in. All the students returned to their seat to begin the class.

"Morning everyone. Did you have a good Spring break? I hope you all do. After today class, you all will represent your pet back to Joaquin-sensei to check for any physical problem. Don't worry, the pet will be returned by tomorrow. Now, please take out your book."—Hagus said and turned around to the black board as the student took out their book. Add opened his bag and saw his little Reaper was sleeping quietly inside, hugging his skull as a pillow.

"_Let just hope that old freak won't do anything to these little guys."_

Then from outside the window, Add heard a knocking sound on it. He turned around and opened the window, then a small pebble flew and hit his head.

"WHO THROW THAT?"—he shouted, but no answer and the school yard was empty.

"Is something the matter, Add-san?"—Hagus asked as the whole class was staring at him.

"N-nothing,"—he said and the lesson continued.

"Tch, if I ever found out who did I swear…"—he picked the small pebble up. There was a small letter tied to it. He unfolded the small piece of paper and read the thing written on it.

"_Come to the rooftop at lunch, we know your secret."_—but thinking that it just a prank, he threw the paper away. But that wasn't the last of it.

-PE class—

"On your mark, get set, GO!"—Camila shouted and blew her whistle. The student at the starting line began running. Just like any other PE class, Add got the lead while sleeping. Just 5 more meter and he will reach the goal, but from afar, another pebble flew toward and hit his side, making him lost his balance and fell out of his track. He woke up and piced up the pebble, still the same letter from before.

-Chemistry class—

"After boiling the Low class Elixir, slowly pour it into the Rosso liquid and add a few Alchemy essence."—Pesop, the Chemistry teacher with a paper bag over his head explained the process.

"_This school sure have many weird teacher."_—Add thought to himself staring at the weird painting on the paper bag while pouring the liquid into another tub. But instead of solidify, the liquid inside the tube began to foaming and after 5 seconds, exploded. The room was filled with red smoke so those near the window opened them to let the smoke escape.

Add stared at the broken tube in his hand, then looked again at the liquid that he just boiled.

"Wait, this is Blazing Bomb potion, not Rosso Ring."—he looked at the bottle and turned it bottom up, the same letter.

"That the last straw."—he cursed and crushed the remnant of the broken tube in his hand. After putting the bandage on the burnt spots, he escaped the infirmary and walked straight up to the rooftop.

"Whoever you are, come out right now because my fists have something to say to you!"—he kicked the door open. Before his eyes was a big barricade, made of a lot of sand bags. And he could see 2 green helmets were shaking behind.

"What in the name of El?"—he asked. Feuer then walked around the barricade and saw a male and a female. Both of them wore glasses, the male had a camera hanging on his neck while the female had a leather bag hanging on her side.

"Um, are you 2 the one who called Add-kun here?"—Feuer asked the 2 shaking figures.

"Y-y-yes, it was us. I-I'm Allergo, t-this is Luriel."—the male answered.

"Oh hoh, so you 2 are the one responsible for all those pranks, correct?"—Add said crackling his knuckles. The murderous aura around him was so dense that the other could see the face of a demon behind him. Feeling the shiver down their spine, they ran around and hid behind the barricade while Feuer had to hold Add back from committing a murder.

Luriel then took out from her bag a camera and played the video. It was showing the robbery at Velder mall several days ago. The screen of Add, Feuer, Ciel and Chung opening the door was got caught inside.

"W-where did you get that video?"—Add eyes widened as he remembered that after they opened the door, they all had hid themselves into some corner nearby to avoid any annoying thing from the police.

"W-w-we asked our friend to hi jack into the mall camera. B-but this isn't what we wanted to talk about today."—Allergo explained. After Add murderous aura had faded away, they all sat down and waited for an explanation.

"L-let me introduce again. I-I'm Allergo, the Newspaper Club President, a-and this is Luriel, Vice President."—Allergo introduced himself and his companion. His voice was stuttered, but it wasn't because of Add murderous aura, more like it was his nature voice.

"Have you guys heard about the 'Seven Mysteries' of El Academy?"—after the introducing, Allergo started the main topic.

"Every school has that kind of thing."—Feuer replied.

"Yes. Every school has their own Seven Mysteries. They may look different from each school, but they all are just a variation of the main one. But in El Academy, the Seven Mysteries are completely different. We got many rumors about it from the witnessed student."

"So let me make it short, you need our help."—Add asked bluntly.

"Y-y-yes."

"Okay, THEN YOU COULD HAVE ASKED NORMALLY INSTEAD OF PUTTING PRANKS ON ME!"—Add shouted all his anger out and flipped the entire barricade from the rooftop down to the ground. And once again, the murderous aura with the demon face returned.

"B-b-but we are forced to use this way. If we say we need your help to sneak into the school at night, you will definitely decline!"—Allergo explained, hiding behind Feuer. At the part 'sneak into the school at night', many painful memories returned to Add. He started to sweat heavily.

"So if I decline, you 2 will do what?"—he asked. Luriel then showed her phone to Add.

"W-w-we will post this video onto 'El Network', and e-everyone in El Academy will know about your secret!"

"First you play pranks on me, now you are threatening me?"—the murderous aura around him grew bigger as the demon face behind him turned into the demon king.

"_This make me wonder who is the one that being threatening here."_—Feuer thought to himself.

"Guh, FINE! WHEN THIS IS OVER YOU 2 BETTER DELETE THAT VIDEO OR ELSE!"

"That means you accepted to sneak into the school at night, again Add-kun."—being reminded, the painful memories flashed back in Add mind again as his legs started shaking a bit.

After school, all of the 2nd year gathered at Joaquin personal lab at the East wing of the school to return the pet for a checkup.

"You 2 will be staying here for 1 night. We will see each other again tomorrow. Make sure to be good."—Feuer pated his Hoya and Add little Reaper on their head to reassure them. The other also did the same with their pet. While on Ara side, the situation was a bit complicated. Eun just won't let go of little Naho. The more Ara tried to separate her from Naho, the more she wouldn't let go.

"Now this is complicating."—Joaquin scratched his head and grabbed something from his pocket. He opened his palm and inside was a small heap of blue dust. He blew it at Eun and immediately, she felt asleep, slowly let go of Naho.

"If you do anything weird to them, I'll make sure you will never the light of the day again."—Add gave a final warn to Joaquin, at which he just laugh back.

"Why should I do that? The life of a student and their pet is one of many essential ingredients in my formula. But I do wonder how will it turn out if I add some adjustment, Gehahahahaha."—giving the final laugh, Joaquin then shut the door behind him. The 2nd year then slowly left.

"Let go Add-kun."—Feuer said taking his shoes out of the locker.

"Go…where?"—Add asked back.

"The Police Station."

"And tell me why do we need to go there again?"

"Did you forget already? Edan-san told us to come, look like he needs to discuss something with us."—the 2 then leave the school area and took off. Instead of their daily track downtown to the Glitter Hunter, they walked toward the center. Tall buildings slowly got into their sight. Following the map, they stopped in front of a big building with the sign V.P.D on the door and several cars with white color theme adorned with red and blue line.

They entered the crowded hall. Those inside, all of them were wearing dark blue uniform, both men and women.

"Do you 2 pipsqueaks need something?"—asked a passing by big police with a not-in-good-mood face expression. He was carrying a lot of guns on his shoulder.

"Edan-san told us to come here."—Feeur replied.

"Oh, so you 2 are the one that Commander told us about. Go straight ahead from here, at the end of the corridor and you will see the door to his room."—he said pointing his finger at the direction.

"The name Lepand. If you 2 are here to meet Commander, then that mean we will see again very soon."—Lepand laughed and then walked off. Add and Feuer were dumbfounded as they didn't understand what he meant. But they just shook off and walked down the corridor.

Now that they got deeper inside the Police Station and got a closer look, they noticed a very awkward detail. All of the police inside, mostly man, they all had a scar or 2 on their face or other part of their body. None of them even bothered hiding the scars away, but instead showing it out like a war trophy. And if it wasn't for the sign V.P.D outside, the 2 would have thought that this place was a mafia base.

They reached the end of the corridor and stood in front of a wooden door with the sign 'Commander' on it. The 2 stared at each other and wait for the other to open the door. 5 minutes of waiting, then they decided it by rock, paper, scissor. Feuer won 2 out of 3 so Add was forced to open the door. He gulped his saliva and opened it.

The entered the room, but instead of the horrifying scenery that normally every police chief room should have, what they saw was a mountain. A real mountain of paper. Hearing the sound of the door opened, the mountain of paper slowly trembled and the paper slid down on the floor, revealing a man in dark blue uniform collapsing on the table.

And for the second time, the 2 decided who will wake him up by rock, paper, scissor. Feuer won 2 out of 3, again.

"_Next time, I'll be the rock."_—Add cursed while grabbing the clothe hanger and poked Edan. After several poke, he woke up with sleepy eyes and looked around.

"Oh, good afternoon you 2. As you can see, I'm currently being drowned by paper work."

"Yeah, we can tell."—the door then opened again, and a girl with blond tied hair stepped in. dropped the pile of paper in her hand on Edan head.

"Speed up your work. You still have 3 more piles left."—she said and bowed to greet the 2 boys.

"Amelia-chan, you are being mean."

"If you didn't slack off at the night club for a whole week, then this should have been easier. Or how about you just take one of those girls at the night club as your wife and retire, I'll gladly have your chair as the Commander."—the girl names Amelia said with harsh tone.

"Oh I'll get a wife and retire soon. But not from those at the night club. You will be the on-"—Edan said back. But not letting him finished his sentence, Amelia gave Edan a slap across his face, strong enough to turn him 180 degree around and fell down on the ground.

"With your action just now, I can sue you for sexual harassment."—she said while opened a notebook and wrote Edan name down. Add then cleared his throat to announce that they are not invisible. After getting back on his chair, Edan asked Amelia to make some tea for the guests while he had a conversation with them.

"So what is it so important that the Police Chief have to summon us?"—Add started the conversation.

"First, take a look at this."—Edan replied, the light in the room went off while he turned on the projector and showed a video on the wall. The 2 boys looked at the screen and saw themselves, at Port Lurensia.

"Next time if you want to play the silent hero game, make sure that no trace got left behind."—Edan mocked.

"So? You call us here today just to show us this and lecture us?"

"Quite different. The reason I called you here today is about 2 things, first is this."—Edan then zoomed in the screen. After the image was cleared, he pointed at the hand of the one that black mailed Aisha.

"Do you know what this is?"—he asked pointing at the device.

"If I remember correctly, that guy said as long as the device is on, the 'Contract of El' will be useless."—Feuer replied according to his memories. Edan took out from his desk drawer an identical device.

"We found this from those bandits at Velder mall the other day. They also have these things, but they were too careless or maybe too dumb that they didn't think of the possibility that a 'Contract of El' user might be in the mall."—Edan said and turned another video on, showing Add, Feuer, Ciel and Chung taking down the guarding troop and opening the doors.

"Now that the second time I see that video today. Seriously, are those cameras at the mall even have any security firewall?"

"Now the main problem is, when we ask the head bandit about where he got the device, he just simply replied-"

" 'Hahaha, keep fighting the outside, but you will never know your true enemy is what inside.' "—Amelia added the last part and placed 3 cups of tea on the table.

"That was what he said. These devices can harness the power of the 'Contract of El', so the one who created them must know a lot about it. There are only 2 places in Elrios gathered all those that fit the category, the main research facility, Altera Core, and El Academy. So, the second reason: I want you 2 to work for the V.P.D as undercover spies to investigate those in charge in El Academy."

As Edan spoke his request, Add and Feuer choked on their tea. They coughed several times before calming down, a tiny bit.

"Are you freaking serious about this? We are just student."—Add tried to protest.

"With special power and took down a bunch of bandits without receiving any wound."—and Edan added on and Add couldn't find any excuse for that.

"The V.P.D will take care of investigating the Altera Core, and you don't need to answer me right now. Just think about it. When you got your answer, you know where to find me."—Edan said and sees the 2 off. The 2 boys walked just 5 steps away, a mana arrow shot through the door.

It flew across the hallway, made a hole on the front door, flew outside, hit the traffic light pole, broke it down, caused a small traffic jam in front of the V.P.D and scared the crap out of a cat on it way before dissipating.

"Boys, Sergeant did it again!"—the other polices inside started being over excited, because the fight of Edan and Amelia, and the repercussion of their fight is one of many fun things at the V.P.D.

"50.000 ED that the media will come here in 10 minutes!' / "Make it 100.000, and I bet the media will come in 8 minutes!"

"Really? They are gambling right inside a police station?"—Add looked back inside the police station as the others placed their bet on the table. And on the outside, several cars bumped into each other while the drivers trying to get out of the mess.

"Now these are something you don't get to see every day."—making their way through the mess, the 2 walked back downtown to the Glitter Hunter. The clock marked 6:15, and instantly, the customers started flooding in. The restaurant was being crowded and noisy, similar to the center. But the 2 still find it much better, because their first impression on the city center was the V.P.D. And if they could describe that place in one word, 'chaotic' pretty much summed it all.

Done with school and done with their job. Now to the last thing on the list before calling it a day, the request. Leaving their bags at home, the 2 returned to the El Academy. They climbed over the school gate to the front hall, their meeting spot with the other 2.

"T-t-thank you for coming."—Allergo and Luriel bowed to show their appreciation to the 2. Somehow, the atmosphere around Add and Feuer was completely different. While Feuer was being excited with a smiling face and emitting a bright aura, Add was being restless with a dark ominous air around him.

"I-I'm looking forward to work with you."—the 2 bowed again and moved into the school building. But none of them know that they weren't alone. As the cloud covered the moonlight, several shadows entered the school area from the East, West and South gate. Inside the school, a door slid open creating a creaking sound while 4 more tiny shadows stepped out. All those signs can only mean one thing, a party was awaiting the unexpected guests, a party of horror.

"So, where do we start first?"—Feuer asked while him and the other 2 looked at the school map with several weird marking on them.

"I-I marked all the place of the 7 Mysteries. With our current position then the closest one will be…"—while the 3 were talking about the location on the map using the light from their flashlight, Add was pointing his own flashlight around to check for any spooky sign.

"Ghost, t-there are no such thing as ghost, t-they are just a phenomenon that science haven't been able to explain YET."—he said the last word out loud to reassure himself.

"Okay Add-kun, let go."—Feuer called for Add after checking the location.

"The first one of the 7 Mysteries: the Amethyst shadow. According to rumor, a shadow usually appears in school at night, wandering around. The name was because those that saw it said the color was purple."—he explained.

"S-so w-where the heck does this shadow usually appear?"—Add asked still pointing his flashlight around.

"Just 1 meter away from where you stand."—Feuer said and the timing just couldn't get any better. When Add pointed his flashlight at the direction where Feuer pointed, a floating shadow appeared in the hallway. Because of the sudden appearance, Add dropped his flashlight due to his hands just won't stop shaking and fell on his bottom.

The shadow noticed them and immediately ran, or more like flew away. Add somehow managed to stand up while his legs still shaking nonstop.

"L-let just get out of he-"—he turned to the opposite direction and about to escape but Feuer grabbed his hand. Add turned around and saw the expression on Feuer face.

"Oh no, Feuer, NO! I know what that expression means, but the answer is still no!"—Add protested. Feuer keep nodding his head while Add constantly shook his. Add tried to escape again but Feuer tightened his grip on Add wrist. Without another second wasted, Feuer dragged Add along to have a closer look on the Amethyst shadow.

"CUUUUUURSE YOOOOOOOU FEEEEEUER!"—Add cried while being dragged along. Allergo and Luriel didn't get what was going on, but still ran after the 2.

Hearing the loud sound, the shadow looked back behind, and saw something that was even more frightening than a demon. Feuer eyes were glowing while the word 'knowledge' was burning on his forehead.

A few minutes earlier, before the unlikely chase where the ghost being chased by human begin. Joaquin was dozing off on his table, just like any other night. The little reaper with all the other pets were sleeping safe and sound in Joaquin personal lab.

"So…many…test tubs and subject…Gehaha…hahaha…"—the crazy demon scientist was mumbling something in his dream. He then accidentally dropped the pen in his hand, and the sound woke the little Reaper. He rubbed his eyes then looked around. The place where he was sleeping wasn't Add room. Then he remembered that Feuer told him and Hoya to spend a night here.

A weird place at night sounded like an adventure to the little one. He turned to his side and woke Hoya, Thanato and Naho up. After rubbing their eyes, the 4 little pets exited the lab and went on a night adventure.

"Y-you guys, where are you going?"—a shadow appeared from the little Reaper skull. She tried to stop them, but they were too fast and small, she ran after them but lost their track immediately. She wandered around to look for them and suddenly bumped into Add and Feuer group. Then, the event of the unlikely chase took place.

But the party of horror didn't end there. The chase on the hallway caused a lot of loud noise, which awoke all the other pets sleeping inside Joaquin lab. They all yawned, rubbed their eyes and set on a night adventure as they exited the lab and scattered around the school.

"The more the merrier."—if the pets were the clowns that brought fear to the party, then there must be victim. While the chase took place in the North hall, on the East wing on the school 2 girls were tiptoeing in the dark hallway with their flashlight as the only source of light, with a small white fox hiding behind her master leg.

"I'm so sleep~ Can I go home now~?"—Elesis asked with a pillow with her.

"S-sorry Elesis-san. Eun-chan wanted to check on Naho so bad, but I-I'm too scared to go alone."—Ara explained while dragging Elesis along. Eun, the little fox, even thought the idea was her, but just like Ara, she was too scared to alone as the image of the purple shadow from last time still haunting her mind.

The 2 girls with the fox walked pass the hallway slowly to reach Joaquin lab. The little Naho, with Reaper, Hoya and Thanato were wandering around to explore the place. Naho noticed her owner and waved at them. But because they were too small and the hallway was dark, Ara didn't notice her, while Eun had her eyes shut because the purple shadow might appear out of nowhere again, like last time.

No matter how much she tried, she didn't get any attention. Naho pouted, she created several black flames from the tip of her tail and shot them at Ara.

"W-where is the way to Joaquin-sensei lab again?"—she asked herself and pointed the flashlight to Naho direction, but all she could see was the black flames coming at her. The first flame hit the wall, Ara dodged, the second one hit the window, Elesis MAGICALLY dodged it by crouching down, but actually, she reached her limit and decided to hit the floor for the night.

"E-Elesis-san, we gotta run!"

"Just…leave me…too sleepy…"—was the last thing she murmured before falling asleep. The flames were coming and no more time to think, Ara provoked the flames so their attention would be on her and ran away.

"I'll be back for you later!"—Ara shouted back, which Elesis responded by lifted one of her hand and made a goodbye wave at her. Ara ran to the direction where she came from, the exit of the East wing. She was too focused on doding the black flames and, so she didn't notice Add and Feuer when she passed the crossroad of the East wing and North hallway.

"W-was that a shadow of a girl?"—Allergo asked after he saw Ara ran passed the 4, but it was too dark so he couldn't make out who it was. And just right after that, the flames flew pass them, continued their pursue on Ara.

"Look! The Will-o-Wisp! After them!"—shifting his interest on the new target, Feuer changed direction and ran after the black flames, despite Add resistance.

"NO FEUEEEEEER!"

* * *

-West wing of the school—

"Um, Rena-senpai, does this really necessary?"—Alisa asked while Rena looked around to check if there was any security nearby.

"Oh come one Alisa-chan. At night is the time when all secrets are revealed. And I heard that this school is full of secret."—said an enthusiastic Rena. They kept walking, in hope for encountering the school 7 Mysteries. But the thing they saw was entirely unexpected. Alisa pet, Marionette was playing with a Pumpkin Fairy, Aisha pet. When the 2 saw Rena and Alisa, with her mischievous personality, just like her owner, the Fairy Pumpkin whispered into Marionette ear something.

Marionette then created a black cross shape control. When Alisa and Rena got into the position, Pumpkin Fairy nodded to signal Marionette as she created purple thunder from the control bar while Pumpkin Fairy summoned several glowing, laughing pumpkins. Being surprised by the thunder and the horrifying laughing pumpkins, Alisa screamed at the top of her lungs then grabbed Rena hand and ran away in tear.

"Scaaaaryyyyy!"—seeing the tears from Alisa, Rena escaped from her grip and went into a battle stance.

"I wanted to see the school 7 Mysteries, but now you made Alisa-chan cry, you will have to pay for that!"—she said and threw her kicks at the flying pumpkins. Bing hit with great force, the pumpkins immediately broke into small pieces and dropped on the ground. Next, she casted a wind spell on her legs and leaped into the air, threw a flying kick and destroyed the thunder-spitting control bar.

"AND STAY DOWN!"

"You are the scary one here senpai."—Alisa said while leaning against the wall to support her shaking legs. Seeing that their toys got destroyed, Pumpkins Fairy signaled Marionette to do it again. She summoned another control bar while Pumpkin Fairy sent more laughing pumpkins toward Rena, which she had no difficulty in destroying them. The senseless fight went on and on between an enthusiastic elf and 2 little pets.

* * *

-South hallway—

"Senpai, why are we at school at this time again?"

"I forgot my notebook in the classroom. I can't learn without it, and if I fail another test, 3 months of hell tutor are waiting for me."—Raven responded while sneaking into the school with another one from the Kendo club.

"But isn't your notebook is always empty?"

"Nonsense! I wrote a lot of thing inside! The most effective battle stance for each situation in Kendo, defensive, offensive, counter, I even draw illustrations for each of them."

Raven and the other got into his classroom. He looked for his table and checked the drawer. The notebook was still there. He quickly grabbed it and exited the class. A small Sheriff, Chung pet and a little penguin name Peng, Ciel pet were checking the hall. Contrary to their master, the 2 pets were getting along well with each other. When they saw Raven, they thought the 2 were thieves.

The sense of justice rose inside the Sheriff as she drew her gun and shot at the 2, little Peng also drew his hunting rifle to support his friend. Sensing something was coming, Raven grabbed a mop nearby and deflect the bullets.

"Hah, a night assault? Not bad, this is very good for training. Come at me bro!"—he provoked his opponent as the 2 pets released all of their ammunition toward Raven while he deflected all of them with his mop. The other one just stood on the side, not having even the slightest bit of what was going on.

Back at the pursue on the Will-o-Wisp, just after a few turn around the corner, Allergo and Luriel lost Feuer track. The 2 weren't had much stamina in them, and almost no one could match Feuer speed when he being over hyped about something new.

The black flames soon dissipated as they ran out of spirit energy and were too far away from Naho for her to supply the energy. Feuer still running, looking around for the trace of the Will-o-Wisp, but no sign of them anywhere. Add still being dragged along behind. All his strength was used from all the shouting and trying to escape from Feuer grip.

Meanwhile, not too far from their location, little Reaper was playing with a Berthe Jr, Lu pet. Reaper created a floating black skull in mid air to demonstrate. The Berthe Jr jumped up and down with excitement. Suddenly, he stopped and scratched his nose, and unintentionally, he shot out an ice blast from his mouth while sneezing.

The blast immediately froze the floating black skull, and the rest of it flew across the hallway and turn the ground into solid ice. Feuer saw the blast coming and stepped to aside to dodge it. As the ground turned solid ice, he tripped and bumped his head on the ground.

"Ouch ouch ouch."—he grumbled while rubbing the spot. Add, having all his energy used up in all the shouting and trying to escape from Feuer grip earlier, slid on the slippery surface away from Feuer a bit before stopping.

"Next time…no more night adventure…"—he complained as he tried to stand up. When he turned around, the Reaper frozen black skull from earlier was right beneath him. His skin slowly turned to white like his hair as the fear built up inside and overtook his mind.

"What was that blast just now? I thought there were only 7 mysteries-"—Feuer sat up still rubbing his head to ease the pain. Add then ran pass him, grabbed his collar and bolted away from the frozen hallway.

"I HATE SCHOOL AT NIIIIGHT!"—he screamed. His moving pattern and his mind had gone wild. He didn't know which direction he was running to nor his destination, he just knew one thing: ran as far and as fast as he could. Soon, he reached a dark corner where the staff putted their cleaning tool. He leaned against the wall with one hand grabbing his chest where his heart should be.

When he looked to his right, an even more horrifying scene appeared in front of his eyes. A female body, lying on the ground with her blood stained red hair covering half her face, while surrounding her was a puddle of red blood. Even in the dark, Add could make out her white pale skin.

"GYAAAAAAAAH!"—the body was actually Elesis. She was having a dream of fighting a strong opponent and accidentally shot out a blood blast, explained for the bloody mess around her. Add ran away again and opened a random door in the hallway. Thanato was playing inside, being surprised by the loud sound of Add opening the door, she casted a giant red glowing cross in the air and slammed it down on the ground.

The cross created multiple smaller ones around it. Having a hallucination due to fear, Add thought saw the crosses and thought the place was the graveyard. He closed the door with a slam and continued his runaway. Allergo and Luriel finally caught up to him, but a Mana Eater that was in the same room with Thanato got scared, so he released a bright light.

The blue bright light hit Allergo and Luriel which immediately knocked them unconscious and dropped on the ground. Finally, Add stopped in front of Joaquin lab. He fell on the floor on his knees, huffing for air. As thought the run had finally over, a strong wave of energy flew pass their face and carved a deep mark on the wall.

"W-w-w-w-what is it now? Why do ghosts always appear whenever I go? I'm not a ghost magnet for El sake!"—Add stuttered. Another wave came flying at them, Feuer pushed Add aside to dodge the attack, but suddenly tripped and the 2 bumped their head together. And the one who caused the mess was little Hoya. And people say kid are angel.

Feuer got knocked unconscious while Add, not in any better shape with his vision started being blurry. A small dot of light was coming at them from the distance. Add looked up to see who it was, and he saw a glowing demon face with an optical lens. His jaw dropped and wiped out as he couldn't keep himself awake any longer.

"Hm? Now what are these 2 doing here at night?"—Joaquin asked himself, poking Add and Feuer face. But the presence of the 2 wasn't his concern. He took out a whistle from his pocket and blew it. All the pet scattered all over the school, after hearing the sound, they all immediately returned to Joaquin lab, back on their bed.

The next morning, the pet was returned to t

heir owner. They all were happy to be with their owner again. Everyone was full of energy in the morning while a few others just kept yawning constantly. On the school bulletin board, the new issue of El Academy News was published. And on the first page was an astonishing news.

"The truth revealed. There was no 7 Mysteries, not in El Academy. There was 17 Mysteries in El Academy!"

The black Will-o-Wisp.

The mysterious assault at night.

The ghostly thunder and the laughing pumpkins.

The frozen hallway that shows the destiny of those that walked on it.

The Crimson Lady.

The mysterious door that leads to a graveyard of glowing crosses.

Mysterious blue light that feed on people souls.

The Kamaitachi rampage.

The demonic scientist.

And the El Academy itself as the biggest mystery."

* * *

**Shiraga: **little info:

Kamaitachi is a type of youkai in Japan myth. The youkai takes form of a fox. It speed is extremely fast and it have a bad habit of slicing people with it claw. A fox claw cannot deal much damage beside some small bruises, but because of it speed, it claws become deadly sickle. The kamaitachi moves like wind with their speed. So if you receive deep cut on your body when a wind blow pass you, those little guys bout to be nearby.


	13. Chapter 13: Emergency Supplementary

**Shiraga: **FINALLY! CHAPTER 13! just got my computer back yesterday, but all the data was lost so i have to rewrite the whole chapter. Sorry for the late update.

Anyway, enjoy folks. tomorrow I'll update a new series like i promised.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Emergency Supplementary**

* * *

The class was crowded as all the students were talking about a same topic. They all were holding some paper sheets, while some were sighing with relief, the others were being a little bit panicked. But there were 2 that didn't showed a bit of worry, like the topic didn't affect them at all. Well, literally.

"100, 100, 100, 100 and 100. Perfect score yet again. How is your feuer?"—Add scanned through all of his test sheets. All of them got a lot of red circle and 100 points.

"Same as your Add-kun."—Feuer replied, showing his sheets to Add.

"_You damn nerds…"_—the other students cursed them silently.

"How is your, Ara-dono? Elesis-dono?"—Feuer peeped at Ara and Elesis test sheets. Their result wasn't really bad, but was near critical state.

"There were too many question that I don't get."—Ara said while Elesis head was smoking just by remembering all the questions in the test.

"Ciel-san, how about you?"—Feuer turned to Ciel.

"I miscalculated the amount of time for test so some I didn't finish."—Ciel showed his sheets. Not perfect score, but they were good result. But it a whole different story when they looked into Lu sheets.

"…"—Ara and Elesis were speechless.

"Are these score even obtainable from any living being?"—Add asked.

"You guys are so pathetic."—then Aisha poked in. She showed her test result of Math, Literature and Geography. While Ara and Elesis were admiring their friend score, Feuer asked a question that should not be ask and broke the atmosphere. Nice one boy, you just have to do it, don't you?

"Aisha-san, what about those sheets behind you?"—being revealed, Aisha showed the rest of her test sheets. They all were as bad as Ara and Elesis. At least things ca't get any worse, or did I speak too soon?

"Um, everyone…May I have your attention please?"—Hagus peeped his head into the classroom. Even thought he is one of El Academy oldest teachers, his voice was always loud and clear. But today, his voice was a bit stuttering.

"I-I have an announcement-"—without letting the old man finished his sentence, Stellar pushed him aside and broke into the class.

"You all have your test sheets with you right? To those with good score, I congratulated you for making it back from hell. But to those with bad score, I have a good news for me, but bad for you. Tomorrow you will take this test again, but if your score remain the same or worse, you will have to take the summer course."—as the news was announced, not only the class C, but the whole El Academy screamed in agony.

Looked like Stellar had some chat with other class homeroom teachers, so the news would be delivered at the same time.

"The total school ranking was announced. And that it for today. Normally, others would say good luck, but not me. I would love to see your face in the summer course."—sending the last smirk to her students, Stellar exited the classroom, leaving all those with low score panicking even more. Then, Ara, Elesis, Lu and Aisha looked at Add and Feuer with their puppy eyes.

"W-what are you all looking at me for? I'm ain't gonna tutor any of you-"—then Add phone rang. He picked up to check the message and saw an S.O.S text from Raven.

"Seriously? This guy too?"—his hand holding the phone was shaking with anger. After 5 seconds of mind fighting and struggling, he started texting with high speed. After sending the message, he closed the phone and turned back to the others.

"All of you, my house, 6 PM, or else!"—he declared the order. Then they all moved outside to check the ranking. The top 50 was, of course the elite class, class A.

"Hah, they thought they could win? The top 50 was always our."—a guy from class A said.

"Was there any doubt from the beginning?"—another one added on. When class C arrived, they started mocking them even more, especially Ara, Elesis and Lu.

"Hey look, it the bad score trio."—they kept spitting bad words from their foul mouth. But without letting them speaking another word, Add kicked both of their butt from behind while looking to other direction, whistling.

"W-what the heck was that for?"—they asked back. Add then pointed at the top of the ranking board. The 2 looked after his finger and saw his name with Feuer at the 2nd and 3rd place, right below Eve.

"So? Are you gonna keep spitting trash or I just have to beat some sense into you?"—Add asked cracking his knuckles.

"If you want your punishment to be lengthened then be my guest."—the other students immediately made way as Eve arrived.

"Tch, here come the party pooper. Ara, Elesis, let go. We got better thing to do than staying here with these bastards."—Add grunted and walked off.

"We can tutor Ara-dono, Elesis-dono, Aisha-san and Lu. But what about Raven-senpai? Do you know anything about 3rd year program?"—Feuer asked.

"Wait, I thought you know."—the 2 of them looked at each other in silent as Add agreed to tutor Raven but not knowing even a glimpse of 3rd year program.

"I'll ask someon-...as if I know anyone in the 3rd year."—Add banged his head against the wall and told Feuer to do it. Feuer sighed then took out his phone and called Rena.

"Rena-senpai? Can we ask you to tutor someone? Well, he is a friend of us in the 3rd year. You can? That would be a great help! What? Alisa-san too? Okay, another one won't hurt. I'll send you the location later."—Feuer said then took a picture of the map and sent to Rena.

"Okay, problem solved."—they all quickly packed their stuff and left the school. The other students also quickly left in group as they all have asked their friend to tutor them. Summer course is still tolerable, but if Stellar is the one in charge, it a whole different story.

They waked back to Add and Feuer house and waited a bit for the rest. After a while, they saw Raven and Rena also arrived just in time.

"Sorry I'm late guys."—the crow then made eyes contact with the elf.

"So you are Raven-san. Nice to meet you."—Rena bowed her head politely.

"N-nice t-t-to m-meet you t-too."—the crow was stuttering for the first time ever since he was born into Elrios. Add stared at him with an awkward expression, Aisha and Lu carefully examined Rena body and soon regretted it, while Feuer sensing something interesting, quickly wrote something into his notebook with a mischievous catlike smirk on his face.

After the introduction, the group moved inside to start the tutorial.

"My, isn't this a small lovely house?"—Rena complimented. They moved into the living. The little Reaper and Hoya were playing on the sofa. Seeing their master, the 2 little pets quicjly ran toward.

"Sorry you guys, but can't play with you today."—Feuer said patting the 2 little guys head. They sadly returned to the sofa.

"You don't have to worry about that."—Aisha said and opened her bag. The Pumpkin Fairy flew out from it. The others did the same. Then Berthe Jr, Naho, Thanato, Alice, Marionette, Peng, Tree Knight and Eun also joined the fun. They all dragged each other up stair to play. Add took out 2 big table while Feuer prepared the tea and snack for the tutorial.

The 'Young Nerds': Add, Feuer and Rena.

The 'Need a-lot-of-study-for-test army': Ara, Elesis, Lu, Aisha, Raven, Alisa.

Referee: Ciel.

* * *

"Hey, who the heck thought of these name?"—Add.

"Don't ask me, ask the author."—Feuer.

"Even I myself cannot denies the fact that you 2 are Elrios biggest nerds."—Shiraga.

"I…kinda like it. It makes me feel young again."—Rena.

"Told ya so."—Shiraga.

"Tch."—Add.

* * *

Rena then started tutoring Raven while Add and Feuer scanned through the others test sheet.

"So, Ara, Elesis and Lu got problem in Math, Physics. Alisa and Aisha having difficulties in History and Chemistry. I'll deal with oyu guys, Feuer will take care of the other 2."

Meanwhile, the pets were playing up stair. Then little Reaper saw something moving outside. He hopped onto the window and got outside. While Eun was the only one that tried to stop him, the others jumped outside along with Reaper. They all saw a large group of black birds that was pursuing something. Being taken over by their curiosity, they all ran after.

"Okay Ara. What is the result of this one"

"Um…replacing X in here and…you got A then…it A^2 + BX – Y!"

"You forgot the X that you borrowed at this part."

"Who was the one that slayed the Sea Serpent? Aisha-san?"

"Um…It…It was…"

"Sir Horatio!"

"Correct, Alisa-san."

"Raven-san, what will you get by mixing 50 % of Alchemy Essence into a Blazing Bomb liquid?"

"Um…you willl…get their blessed version!"

"Yes! See? If you put your mind into it, none of these can cause any difficulty to you."—Rena complimented.

"Too bad the only thing he ever putted his mind on was Kendo."—Add mocked. Being embarrassed in front of a girl, Raven turned to Add and reached for his Shinai.

"Oi, oi, are you trying to start a fight?"—Raven pointed his sword at Add neck

"You want one? Fine by me. You, me, outside, now."—Add replied cracking his knuckles.

"My, we out of tea and snack. I'll go and get some more."—Feuer noticed and grabbed his wallet.

"Ah, I-I'll go with you. I also need to buy something."—Alisa shouted after and tag along with Feuer. Feuer and Alisa left the house, leaving Add and Raven dragging each other into the yard for their battle, ignoring the others trying to stop them.

"Thank you for shopping."—the staff at the counter said to Feuer and Alisa when they exited the convenience store.

"I'm sorry for Add-kun behavior earlier. He and Raven-senpai had always been rival ever were in first year."—Feuer gave a small dry smile.

"It okay. I find it kinda fun to watch."—Alisa replied. The short live conversation ended as the 2 walked back to the house. The wind blew passed them, even thought it was already May, the night wind still sent shiver down people spine. Alisa shivered a bit, Feuer took off his jacket and gave it to her.

"You will catch a cold. Here, use this."

"Ah, t-thank you."—she thanked and took the jacket.

"The thing is…since the first time when our instruments were stolen, and the second time when you helped us polishing them, I didn't manage to thank you guys properly. Thank you."

"It nothing. At last, it still our job."

"C-can I ask you something, Feuer-san?"

"Yes, you can. Wait, let me write it down in the notebook so we won't forget to do i-"

"No! T-t-this is not a request! The thing is…I-I…lik-"—Alisa was about to say the most important decision of her life, but too bad, on the roof of a nearby house, legion of crows flew up into the air, interrupting their conversation.

"KWAAH! KWAAH!"—Alisa got startled by the sound that the crows made and last her balance, but Feuer caught her shoulder in time.

"Maybe we should get back first."

"Y-y-yes, l-let head back first. The other must be waiting."

When they headed back, they heard multiple explosion coming from the back yard. They quickly ran toward the direction and saw Add and Raven was messing up the whole place. Dirt flying into the air, debris scattering on the ground.

"Sonic Slash!"

"Electron Roundhouse Kick!"

"Sorry, we tried."—Ciel said. Feuer, upon seeing the scenery, dropped the bag of tea and snack on the ground. His face expression darkened as he moved toward, right into the middle of the battle.

"Is that all you go-" / "This will end you once and for a-"

The 2 fighters were about to release their finishing blow, Feuer then grabbed their ear and pinched them with great force, then slammed both their head into the other.

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch."

"Why there are 4 Add?"

The 2 kneeled on the ground rubbing their forehead and their ear.

"Feuer! What the heck was that fo-"—Add and Raven shouted but immediately shut their mouth when seeing Feuer expression.

"We are here today to tutor the others, not fighting. Do I make my self clear?"—Feuer was crossing his arm while smiling, he was obviously smiling. But somehow his smile had a very dense murderous aura. Even his body was emitting dark, ominous air.

"C-crystal clear sir."—Add and Raven kneeled before him in a serious manner, but avoiding eye contract with Feuer, because right now he could kill them both with just a glance.

"Well, since Feuer-san and Alisa-san is back, we should get back to the lesson."—Ciel said, urged the others back into the living room.

"_Ciel, you bastard! Don't leave us here!"_

After the incident, they all returned to study with Add and Raven being scared to death. But none of them recognized that something was missing, or was it the author imagination? Oh yeah, the window was open, so it definitely the author imagination.

-30 minutes earlier-

After leaping out of the window, the pet legion immediately chased after the large legion of crows. They jumped from roof to roof, enjoying the sight of the quiet town at night and wondering what kind of adventure awaited them.

After a while, they all halted as the legion of crows stopped and gathered on the roof of an abandoned warehouse. They blended into the grasses and moved closer for a better view. They saw the crows were diving down on the ground, but the scenery was too chaotic so they couldn't make out the shape of the one being attacked.

But that wasn't their concern. Without hesitating, they jumped in the middle of the attack and drove back the crows. Reaper materialized a giant black skull while Hoya grabbed his sword and sent out shock wave. The rest of the crows on the roof seeing that they have uninvited guests, immediately blitz down on them with the others.

Eun and Naho created small fire from the tip of their tails and fend off those come from above. Pumpkin Fairy threw out her laughing pumpkins which scare the heck out of some crows, and Marionette zapped some of them with her thunder. Berthe Jr then suddenly sneezed and fired an ice blast.

The blast turned all of the crows on it way into frozen meat and created and open path. All the pets along with the crows victim took the chance and escaped. They ran outside and the crows chased after them. But their death flag had been raised.

Thanato turned around and summoned a giant glowing cross in the air and slammed it down. The cross splitted into several smaller ones and bombarded the warehouse. Without any proper maintenance for being abandoned for a long time, plus the attack from Thanato, the warehouse quickly collapsed. When the smoke died down, the presence of the crow legion was nowhere in sight.

All of the pets constantly jumped up and down as an expression for "That was awesome! Let do that again!". The Tree Knight then turned to check who was the one that they just rescued.

"Are you okay?"—turned out, the one that they just rescued was a dog. He has black fur with slight red hue. His body was covered with cuts and gash from the crows claws. The dog, seemed to understand what Tree Knight just said, slightly nodded but he was breathing heavily.

"We should get back to my master first. His friend can tend your wound."—Tree Knight said and called for the other to return to the house.

"Now then, where is the way to Prosperity Road?"—he asked himself looking around. Now that he looked around at the surrounding, the streets and the house blocks, none of them looked familiar to him.

"Any of you guys know the way home?"—he asked the rest, but they all just shook their head, because they traveled by jumping from roof to roof earlier, so none of them remembered the direction.

"Great, no we're lost."—Tree Knight sighed. The dog noticed the panicking atmosphere. He moved closer to them and sniffed. After taking in the scent, he barked as a sign for them to follow.

Back at the house, the group was still studying, and none of them even realized the fact that their pets just gone rampage on a legion of crows and took down an abandoned warehouse.

"No, no, this part you must use this formula first, then…"—Add was pointing out the mistakes for Ara and Elesis. Only the 2 of them still having difficulty while the others were making great progress. Aisha then looked at the clock, the hand was pointing at 8 o'clock.

"Ah! It almost time for my favorite show!"

"Hey, we are here for study you know."—Add grunted.

"Please! Just a little bit!"—Aisha begged.

"Then let take a break. I'll get some more snack and tea."—Feuer said and they all relaxed themselves as Aisha turned on the TV. And her favorite show was…a yaoi anime?

"KYAAAH!"—she squealed as the scene where a guy threw the other on the bed and undressed him.

"WHAT THE HECK? ARE YOU TRYING TO POISON OUR MIND!"—Add shouted while him and other boys covered their eyes, Ciel covered his own and Lu eyes. Somehow, the other girls, especially Rena was interested by the show and moved in closer to watch with Aisha.

"Ugh, girls, I can never understand their taste."—Add grunted. After the show finished and after Aisha done with spreading the art of yaoi to Rena and Alisa, they all were about to return to study, then Ciel changed the channel.

"It almost time for the cooking program."

"WE wasted enough time already Ciel. No more TV."

"But today they are airing a special edition about making cookies."—as the word 'cookies' hit Add ear, his previous behavior immeidately change.

"Guess I'll stick with this show a bit then."—in the end, the supplementary got postponed because one after another, they kept changing channel to look for their favorite show on the TV. When they all returned to study, it was already 10.

"Look like we wasted a lot of time than expected."—then they heard someone knocked on the door. Feuer went to check the door.

"Yes? Who is it?"—he opened the door, but instead of a person, little Reaper and Hoya jumped on him.

"What the? Since when did you guys sneak outside?"—he scolded Hoya and the others.

"Scolding can wait, right now we need to tend this guy wounds."—the Tree Knight moved up from behind. Feuer then noticed a dog with black fur that was lying on the ground, breathing heavily due to it wounds getting more serious.

"Right. Add-kun! Come give me a hand!"—Feuer shouted for Add. He ran outside and the 2 brought the dog inside. Ciel brought the first aid kit and they started cleaning the wounds before putting bandage on.

"Is this one of those situation when the little one say 'can we keep him?' ?"—Lu asked a certain no one.

"Master."—the Tree Knight returned to Raven.

"What is it?"—Raven asked.

"That dog was attacked by a legion or crow. More importantly, those crows attack in pattern instead of wild attack like wild crows."—the Tree Knight reported back to Raven. He lifted an eyebrown as his eyes widened.

"Crows always move in group, but attacking in pattern then there is only one place in Elrios that gather all those crows…"—Raven said quietly as for no one but himself to hear it. He was deep in his own thought, until Feuer and Ciel came in.

"How is the dog?"—Rena asked.

"Nothing serious. He just got exhausted, Let him rest and he will be fine after few days."

"Poor thing."

"Well, no good in worrying now. Let get back to study, we got a big day tomorrow."—Add clapped and everyone continued studying even until midnight. The pets, all of them were tired, but they all were worried about the dog so they snuck into the kitchen and slept next to him.

Next morning, the sun rose and started emitting his warm light to illuminate the ground. A small light passed through the small gap between the curtain, into the living room. The group studied until late midnight, and all of them didn't know since when they did fall asleep. Lu took the softest spot, the sofa. Raven leaned against the back of the sofa, Rena and Alisa leaning against each other, same as Feuer and Ciel leaned agsint other back.

The sunlight hit Ara eye and woke the girl up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around to see the others were still sleeping.

"_Oh yeah, yesterday we were studying at Add-kun house."_—then she looked to the side and saw Add lying right next to her, still snoring, and Elesis was using his bicep as pillow. In just 1 second, her face turned from normal to tomato red. She was about to scream, but covered her mouth in time. She looked at the clock to check for the time. It was 6:55, and their test started at 7 o'clock. Wait, 7 o'clock.

"We are gonna be late!"—Ara quickly woke the others up. They all panicked like a bunch of chickens being chased by a hound. They quickly left the house and ran toward El Academy as fast as they could. When they arrived at the school gate, Stellar was waiting for them.

"So you managed to make it in time. You guys are the last troop. The others already got here a lot earlier than you all. Well, still better than being late. Get in, and prepare to face hell."—she grinned and evil grin. They all sighed and get to their class. About half of the class C have to take the test again. Even worse, their administrator for test wasn't Hagus, but Stellar herself.

The clock pointed at 7, and the test began. Looking at how the other students in class changed their expression drastically, Ara and Elesis were a bit worried.

"_Hm? This part…Add-kun review them yesterday for me. And this one too."_—but when the 2 girls saw the question, they solved them with ease. They didn't notice that Stellar gave a 'tch' when seeing that they managed to solve the test. Everything went smooth. All of them quickly finished the test, and still got 10 minutes to spare before the time end.

The bell rang announcing that the duration for the test ended. All the students returned their test sheets to the administrator. They left the classroom and waited for the judges to calculate the score. 30 minutes but as thought it was eternity. Finally, the score was announced.

Ara, Elesis, Lu and Alisa moved in closer to check for their score. They passed, and with splendid score, same for Raven. Add, Feuer, Rena and Ciel were waiting at the 'Cadence' clubroom.

"We passed!"—Alisa shouted excitingly and leaped into Rena arms.

"All thanks to you, Add-kun! Feuer-kun!"—Ara leaped into and hugged Add. Then she realized what she just did. She quickly backed away, looking to another direction to hide her red bead face.

"S-sorry."

"I only help a bit. It all your effort. Good work you 2."—Add patted Ara and Elesis head and grabbed his bag.

"Man, I'm too hungry. Let find somewhere to crash."—he suggested as none of them have had breakfast yet. Ara and Elesis touched the spot on their head where Add patted.

"Oi! Ara, Elesis! Let go! We are leaving!"—Add called out to the 2 girls.

"We coming!'—with a smile, they grabbed their bag and ran along.

"_This feather…no mistake. Look like they made their move."_—Raven thought to himself while examining the black feather that Tree Knight brought back. He was at the school gate then Add called for him.

"_I'll investigate this later. Right now, need to fill this empty stomach."_—he got off his train of thought and tagged along with the others.

"So where should we go for a meal?"—Raven asked.

"Let go to Glitter Hunter. Ann-san will serve you guys with her special dish."—Feuer said.

"Then it is decided. Glitter Hunter, full speed ahead."—said Add.


	14. Chapter 14: Summer Festival

**Shiraga: **chapter 14. Sorry for taking so long to update, as so many detail that i need a lot of consideration in this chapter. But here it is.

In this chapter, the special costumes are their promotion costume.

Feuer: Fiery Emperor (changed the name because phoenix chain doesnt sound as good)

A haori top, hakama bottom with the sleev tucked inside his black boots. Multi layers armor pad around his waist. The overall color is grey, with an image of a burning flame on his back and the pattern on his sleeves looks like the red hue ashes from the flame. His left bang got pushed back with an accessory that looks like a hair clip, with the crest of his family on it: a phoenix stretching it wings with the sun behind it. If you dont know some of the word, just google it.

Enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 14: Summer Festival**

* * *

The whole El Academy was excited. The teachers were busying with the paper work while all the class presidents were coming back to their class, delivering good news.

"Everyone! The poster is here!"-Aisha returned to class C with announced her classmates with an excited voice like any others. She opened the poster in her hand and stretched it on the black board.

"So, it that time of the year again huh?"-Add said looking at the content on the poster.

"El Academy Summer Festival."

"They have new kinf of main event every year. Wonder what will the teachers have to offer this year."-Feuer said remembering about the last year main event, Paint War, El Academy style. Involved the use of normal paint balls, but the use of 'Contract of El' was also allowed.

"Last year summer festival state was a real catastrophe."-he said shivering a bit as the memories of how him and Add were covered in paint and how bad Add was pissed off.

"Okay everyone. Now to the main problem of this meeting. What will our class do this year? Any suggestion?"-Aisha asked the whole class.

"Fortune telling!"-a male student raised his hand.

"One suggestion."-Aisha said and wrote the suggestion on the board.

"Maid Cafe!"-another one suggested.

"2 suggestions."

"Haunted house!"

"I greatly protest this one!"-said Add nearly shouting. After a while of discussion, Aisha got a lot of suggestions written down on the board. Now to the hard part, choosing which suggestion was always the most painful part.

"Fortune Telling is way too old!"

"You boys just wanted to satisfy your dirty mind with the maid cafe idea!"

"How dare you make that statement? Take it back and apology to the Maid goddess now!"

And the disucussion soon turned into a quarrel. Aisha slammed her face onto the board while mumbling something. Add just enjoyed the quarrel amusingly.

"Now this is getting nowhere."-Feuer sighed while dodging all the incoming unidentified flying objects.

" Feuer-san! Help!"-Feuer noticed Aisha raising a white flag of defeat and requesting for assitance.

"Can't be helped then."-he smiled and stood up from his seat.

"Everyone, can I have your attention please?"-he spoke up as the whole class went silent.

"About the idea for the festival, I have a suggestion. Some wanted to do the Fortune Telling shack, others think a Maid Cafe is a good idea, Haunted house is not bad either. Then how about this?"-he turned to the board and grabbed a piece of chalk.

"Cosplay Restaurant?"-the class read the word on the board outloud.

"Just like the name. We will be doing a restaurant, but instead of uniform, we will cosplay as the character that we like. A way to make this better is to add your personality into your cosplay. You cosplayed as an angel, but you can be a little bit naughty and mischievous and so on."-Feuer explained as the class nodded.

"You can also add a small act when delivering the food to the customer to fit with your role. A fortune teller giving a prophecy with the dish, or a ghost with a scare before the meal. But try not to overdo it. So, how does this one sound?-Feuer finished his suggestion. The whole class jaw dropped in awe. Then they gave him an applause for how he solved a quarrel and pleased both sides.

"Question. Where are we supposed to find suitable costume?"

"Need not to worry about that part. We have our greates sponsor."-Feuer said and glanced at Lu.

"Hm? Why me?"-she asked.

"It is each student responsibility to take part in the festival. And beside,"-he rushed to Lu side and whispered in her ear.

"The class that make the most profit at the end of the festival will win an award. If our class win, you can raise your status and the road to the Student Council President will be one step closer. And don't you want to humiliate Eve-san by winning, Lu-sa-ma?"-Feuer words reached the deepest part of Lu ear, especially the part where she get to humiliate Eve in front of the whole school.

"Hohoho! Very good, you peasant! I shall lend you my aide! The victory of our class is ensure!"-Lu laughed and ordered Ciel to find the tailors. Feuer returned to the others and gave them a thumb up.

"For your required costume, please register at Aisha-san. Your costume will be delivered later."-Feuer finished and returned to his seat. The situation got heated up as they all didn't want to lose. The males immediately got to work with the redecoration while the girls started making the menu for the restaurant.

"Your sure know how to deal with these sort of thing huh?"-said Add.

"Just trying to solve it the way that best for everyone."

"Well, count me in this time."-surprisingly, Add signed up for the class activity this time by his own will. While last year, Feuer had to used all his might to manage to drag him to school for the festival. Add walked toward Aisha table and registered his costume.

"Humiliating that little miss president. Sound good to me."-the device in Add pocket then vibrated slightly. He took it out to check and was met with ab extremely long list of request, could be the longest list he had ever seen in his life.

"What in the name of El?"-he rubbed his eyes several times to check if this was just a bad dream or a nightmare comes true. But the sound of the phone in his pocket and the voice of the one on the other side of the line told him that it was a nightmare came true.

"Eve! What is the meaning of this?"

"Preparation required a lot of work. The Student Council had deployed all hands we have, yet still lack lot of man power. So, I have only one thing to say: good luck."-Eve said and hung up. Add was left speechless. He facepalmed, looked at the list for another time and facepalmed again.

"Kek, let go Feuer."-Add sighed and shoved the device back into his pocket.

"No can do, Add-kun."-Feuer replied.

"Since I suggested the idea for the Cosplay Restaurant, now I'm forced to be in charge of the reconstruction, decorating, making menu and other preparation work."-before Add could say another thing, the door slid opened as a large group of students rushed in.

"There he is!"

"Get him!"-They rushed toward Add like hungry animal that just saw a prey. Add immediately ran outside. Even though he already injected electricity into his legs, the others still somehow managed to catch up with his speed.

"I'll lend you a hand in the free time! That is if I get to have any free time."-Feuer called after Add.

"Elesis-san! We gotta help him! Elesis-san?"-Ara called for Elesis, but no sigh of her in the classroom.

"C'mon Ara-chan! We still got work to do."-she intended to exit the class to help Add, but the other girls dragged her back inside to do the preparation.

At the highest, biggest room in El Academy, the principal room. A man with white hair was enjoying the scene of the runaway Add through the security camera.

"Is it really okay to do it this way, Glave-sama? We can send in a construction team to help the students."-a girl that stood in front of the principal desk with orange hair tied into a high ponytail asked.

"Then where the fun in that, Ariel-san? If they do the preparation by themselves, they will treasure their effort even more."-Glave responded.

_"Actually, you just want to have fun torturing him."_-Ariel whispered quietly so that no one but herself could hear it.

"Did you send the invitation yet?"-Glave asked.

"Yes, I have sent the invitation to all the guest on the list. But some couldn't make it."

"Luring the snakes out of their nest isn't an easy task. We need to be patience. So how many can make it?"-meanwhile, Add was still running away from the group of hungry beast. Unfortunately, his legs reached their limit. He turned around the corner as his pace slowed down.

"He is around that corner!"-the beastlike group rushed around the corner, but Add was no longer there.

"Where did he go?" / "Find him! He can't be far!"

Then they splitted up to find Add. They thought with the current state, he must still be close by. What they didn't know was that he received a little help.

"They're gone."-Elesis said after checking to make sure that the others didn't see them escaped to the roof.

"What the heck is wrong with them anyway? Are they really lack that much man power?"-Add tried to catch his breathe while leanning against the wall.

"Anyway, thanks for the help Elesis. But I can't stay here long. They will find me eventually."-Add thanked and moved toward the door, but he was struggling just with keeping himself from falling. Elesis stared at his shaky figure for a bit and reached out her hand. She grabbed Add collar and pulled him from behind, which made him fell backward.

"Wah! Hey!"-he fell down, but instead of meetingthe cold solid ground, his head met with something soft. She pulled him down so that he would fall into her arm and his head resting on her chest.

"Stay here..."-Elesis whispered.

"What are you talking abo-"

"Just...a bit..."-she whispered again with a soft tone. Add wanted to protest, but with his legs current condition, he would end up being caught. So he sighed and stayed.

"Fine, but just for a bit."-Add then relaxed his body in Elesis arm. Elesis wrapped her arms around Add neck and rested her chin on his head. The 2 stayed like that for a while, until Elesis spoke up.

"Sometime...I wonder...On that day, if I didn't meet you...If you didn't appear in my life...where would I be right now..."-Elesis closed her eyes and asked.

"Why are you bringing that up now?"-Add lifted his head up with a frustrating look.

"I just...wanted to know...the reason of your existence in my life...was it simply just your mission...? But...above all...thank you, for appearing in my life..."-Elesis opened her eyes, her red pupils met with Add magenta. A smile bloomed on her lips, which made Add stared at her intently, like it was the greatest piece of art in the world.

"What did you call me back then on that night?"

"...friend...?"

"And appearing in each other life is what friends are for."-he raised his hand and patted her head. Elesis then used both her hand to hold onto Add hand, so that she could feel the warmth, the feeling of his hand on her head a bit longer.

" Yeah...I guess so..."

"Okay, look like my legs are good to go. Let head back."-Add said and stood up. He jumped up and down a few times to make sure that his legs are okay.

"I wish they got paralyzed a bit more..."-Elesis whispered.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing..."-the 2 then headed back down stair. The beastlike group was still hunting for Add. When they saw him, they rushed toward, but Add was all prepared.

"STOOOOP!"-he inhaled and released a loud shout. The beasts immediately stopped and covered their ears.

"First come firat serve. If you want my help, write down your request into this list, and I'll deal with them one by one. And no line cutting, are we clear?"-he asked and took out a paper sheet. The others quickly complied and wrote down their request.

"Look like he is doing just fine."-Eve was watching Add from the second floor of the gymnasium. They were modifying the place into a big stage for the events during the festival.

"Eve-sama about this part..."

"Put this one over there, the rest bring them onto the second floor. Chung, call the contractor, we need more material."

"Right away, Eve-sama."

"Each got their own work, but working together will make the bond between them grow tigher. It is a good solution, don't you think?"-Glave aaked Ariel while watching all the students of El Academy to prepare for the festival.

Yes, I admit that it is true."-Ariel sighed with a smile.

_"But the other part when you make Add-san work alone was clearly because of your S hobby."_-she sighed again rubbing the spot between her eyebrowns.

"So your school will be holding a festival huh?"-Ann asked while Feuer was making the dish for the guest.

"Yes, our class will be doing a Cosplay Restaurant. Ann-san, be sure to drop by with other kay?"-Feuer replied.

"Of course I will come. Oh, a restaurant, by any chance that you are..."

"Yes, I'm the main cook for the class. Since the last time with the rice balls, the others knew about my cooking skill, so you get the idea."

"Now I feel kinda sorry for other classes that are also selling food."-Ann then left the kitchen for Feuer to return to work. While Add was veing drained to his last bit of energy to serve the customers, as most of his energy was being used up with solving the request list. When they returned home, Add didn't even bother having meal, but rushed back to his room and fell asleep.

The next day, things got heated up even more as trucks after trucks of material arrived in front of the school gate. Eve was talking with the staff while the cargos being delivered inside. Add returned to helping the others with moving the material and other heavy work, and Feuer returnes to the class in preparing the menu.

"Next is the Lizard stake with Cactus sauce. Please try."-Feuer placed dish with a big piece lizard meat and small bowl of green cactus sauce on the table for the othera to judge. They cut the meat into small pieces, dipped it into the cactus sauce and putted it in their mouth.

"So, how was it?"-Feuer asked as they chewed the food, then an explosion of emotion and flavour bursted in their mouth.

"The tenderness of the lizard meat is good, and the taste when it combined with Bethma special cactus sauce...this, is true perfection."-they gave him the reviews about the dish. They also a lot more things that even Feuer and themselves didn't know what they were talking about.

"Ah, we gotthe food, but we also need the drinks gor the guests."-one of the judge snapped out of her illusion.

"Ciel can deal with that part. He got quite lot of tricks when it come to alchemy and poison."-Lu said and flicked her fingers as Ciel took out a case and opened it. Inside was a lot of pots and tubes containing liquid with different color, with many sizes and shapes.

He grabbed 2 tubes and mixed the liquid inside in a cup, added several drops of red liquid from a pot, he then poured them inside an steel cup with a cap and shook it continuously. When he felt satisfied, he poured the content inside into a glass and placed a small piece of lemon with a small paper umbrella on the edge of the cup.

"The special Light El cocktail at your service."-he placed the glass on the table. One of the judge took the cocktail, and placed on his mouth. After a small sip, the judge suddenly stripped off his uniform, putted on a swim trunk and a shirt with tropical plant pattern that he got out of nowhere. He lied down on the ground, making a pose with his hand holding the cup lifted up. And somehow around him, the sight of Hamel sunny beach appeared.

"Life is fabulous."-he gave a pickup line that no one got any idea of what he meant. Suddenly, the windows started shaking violently.

"And just great timing."-Lu ordered Ciel to open the windows. Strong gusts of wind then rushed into the classroom as all the girls skirt got flipped up, while the boys enjoyed the heavenly sight.

_"Nice one, Lu-sama."_-they gave Lu a thumb up while some were nosebleeding. Outside, a 2 propellers helicopter was levitating at the same height as class C. The door on the side of the helicopter slid open as a girl with short pink hair appeared.

"Good day to you, Lu-sama!"-the girl shouted with an energetic voice.

"Nice timing, Myu-san! If you here then I suppose same goes with my packages!"-Lu shouted back due to the loud sound of the propellers.

Yup! Everything you ordered are right here!"-Myu then whistled to signal for the helicopter to move in closer. After reaching the suitable distance, a platform stretched from the helicopter and connected with the classroom via the window. All the wooden boxes on the helicopter then got moved inside, one after another.

"It was good doing business with you!"-she waved goodbye as the helicopter flew away.

"Lu-chan, what are all these boxes for?"-Ara asked.

"The costumes, of course."-Lu replied.

"Already? But we just ordered them yesterday!"

"Don't underestimate the Sourcream power. Now let put these babies on and show them what class C got!"-Lu declared and received a loud agree in return. The girls took a bit curtain and divided the room in halves. They took the costume that they ordered and went inside.

"If any of you peek, we will make sure that you cannot have kids anymore."-a girl warned as the boys covered their sensitive spot.

"Now what about these boxes?"-one asked pointing at the empty boxes.

"Keep half of them for later use, while the rest, we can dismantle them and resell to other classes that need more material to raise our budget. The festival gonna be very crowded so we need to stock more supplies just in case."-Feuer suggested.

"Good idea there get me a hammer! We are gonna make more money!"

"Oooh!"-then, they all rushed out of the class to find some hammers and returned shortly after. They immediately got to work by dismantling the boxes into wooden board.

"Ciel-san, can you watch the kitchen for a bit? Add-kun must be hungry so I will go and give him the lunch."-Feuer grabbed a lunch box he prepared earlier and left the class. Feuer walked around the school to find Add as he got a lot of requests from 1st to 4th year, so he could be anywhere.

Another reason was to investigate how other classes were doing with their work in silent, and also advertised for his own class.

* * *

"Okay, I know that I created you, but just how much of a genius mind you have in your brain"-Shiraga.

"Do you really wanted to know?"-Feuer giving off a devilish smik.

"Second thought, maybe I'll pass."-Shiraga.

* * *

"The big stage at the gymnasium needs a lot of help, so I bet he must be there."-said Lowe while moving the heavy boxes into his class.

"Thanks for the info."-Feuer waved goodbye and walked off. Outside of the schoo was even more crowded than inside. Building material and boxes of supply were being moved to their destination while the others ran from place to place to deal with paper work or getting more material.

When the gymnasium was in sight, Feuer could hear a lot of pounding sound from a hammer along with the working students voice. He peeked his head inside and saw the place was being redesigned into a big stage. The space for acting got widened, more lights were placed on the ceiling.

"Add! We need more nails overhere!"

"Pass me the hand saw!"

"Okay okay! One at a time! I cannot split myself into half you know!"-Add was running from this side of the stage to the other side to help with the work. Eve was supervising the construction while Chung stood beside her, readied the phone to make the call if they need more supply.

"Now that is one big stage."-Feuer walked toward eyeing the stage.

"We were allowed to use the school budget for these kind of thing, so it must be perfect."-Eve replied abd closed the blueprint in her hand.

"And how about your side?"-she asked.

"We are done with more than half of the work. Everything was going smoothly. I'm here to give Add-kun the lunch. He must be hungry."-Feuer said showing the lunch box in his hand.

"Very well. It is about lunch time. Okay everyone, let take a break." -Eve ordered through the megaphone in her hand. They all then stopped what they were doing, some grabbed their lunch box while the others rushed outside to buy food from the cafeteria.

"Add-kun, I brought you lunch."-Feuer called for Add and gave him the lunch box.

"About time. I almost starved to death here."-Add took the lunch box and sat down at the edge of the stage. He unwrapped the cloth and about to have a bite, but Chung took a chair for Eve to sit down, in front of him in which he gave a not so happy expression.

"What are you doing?"-he asked.

"I just simply sit down to have lunch. Is that a problem?"

"The problem here is why must it be in front of me? This gymnasium is damn big and have a lot of space you know."

"Do where I seat, I must have your permission?"

"Tch, whatever. Not like I care anyway."-he gave his last word and started eating his lunch. Eve took the cup of tea from Chung and took a sip while Feuer sat down next to Add.

"So what will the event on stage for this year be?"-he asked.

"Besife from the main event of the 3rd and 4th year, this year big event will be the competition between the clubs. Each club will contribute with a show. The winning club will receive a special price, but this is classified information."-Eve stopped and revealed no more detail about the event.

"A special price huh? Sound fun."-Feuer grinned. He checked the clock and hopped down from the stage.

"Well, I should be getting back. See you later on the big day."-he waved and walked back to his class. The other boys were just done with dismantling the boxes into wooden boards. They kept half while the rest, they sold it to other classes, and their budget increase somewhat.

"Gentlemen! May I present you the stars of class C!"-while the boys were working, the girls were trying on their costume. Aisha shouted from behind the curtain and pulled it aside. All the girls stepped out with their own unique costume. Angel, demon, spirit, famous character in history or on TV, a lot of topic.

"Looking good girls!"

"You all look pretty hot in those!"

"Whoot whoot!

The boys were being all excited up. They whistled and shouted in joy at the girls.

"F-Feuer-kun. D-do these things look weird on me?"-Aisha pushed the blushing Ara and Elesis toward Feuer. The blushing girl gathered all her courage to ask for opinion.

"Looking pretty good, Ara-dono. But what is your cosplay exactly?"

"Mine is from a myth of a fox girl that I read in a book about Eastern legend when I was a kid."

"A famous action movie actor."-said Elesis. Both of their costume fitted perfectly on them, but they were somewhat revealing and a bit seductive. The other boys were staring at them with dirty eyes.

"A magical prodigy."-Aisha said but beside Feuer, none of the boys gave her any attention. The other girls quickly surrounded Ara and Elesis to block the boys dirty eyes

"Okay, the girls got to try their costume, now it our turn."-Feuer said and pushed the boys insidw the curtain before things could get worse. While the girls warned the boys not to peep, they did the opposite of what they said. Some girls quietly sneaked closer and peeped inside the curtain. What appeared before their eyes were a lot of eye candies of the boys body.

But their biggest concern was Feuer and Ciel. They saw Ciel was wrapping his arms around Feuer. Their face turned as red as tomato while their heads were smoking. They soon collapsed on the ground, some nosebleeded while some were having a fever. But actually, Ciel was just helping Feuer with his hair.

"Well, you girls won't be the only one that get to look cool in the festival."-after a while, the boys came out with their costume. Unlike the girls, the costumes that they ordered were from either a game series or a famous action movie, so as Ciel pulled out the curtain, they mimicked the pose the respective character. Only Feuer and Ciel costume weren't from a game series or movie.

"That one looks good on you,Ciel-san."

"Same goes to you, Feuer-kun."-while Ciel costume was a dark blue butler suit, Feuer costume was one of a kind.

"So, what do you guys think"-Feuer asked Ara anf Elesis.

"The style of your costume, I think I saw it somewhere before..."-Ara said while examining the suit.

"The kingdom to the north of Velder, Sutra-my hometown. This was the trademark of a special force. Now only a few suits like this survived. But I must say, the taylor made it looks just like the original."-Feuer commented as even the smallest detail was perfectly made. Then, the sound of growling stomachs filled the room as it already passed lunch time for a while.

"Anyway, let eat first everyone. We still got lot of things to do, but you cannot work with an empty stomach."-the day quickly flew. Soon, the sun started setting. Everyone left the school full of both exhaustion and excitement.

"Man, what a day."-Add complained while walking, half sleeping.

"How many request on the list did you solve?"

"About half of them."

"On my side, the menu is almost complete. And your costume just arrived this morning with the rest."-Feuer handed over a paper bag with his costume inside.

" About the thing that Eve-san mentioned earlier, what do you think?"

"About each club must contribute a show?"

"Since we got a club room and a name, we are officialy a club, so we are obligate to contribute something."

"For real? Man, so troublesome!"-Add grunted. The 2 arrived at their house and opened the door.

"Reaper, Hoya, Feurig, we're home."-they walked into the living room and saw little Reaper and Hoya was riding Feurig. Feuer named the dog that they saved several days earlier Feurig due to his fur slightly resembled a fire. Until it owner come, Feurig will be staying with the 2.

"Oh yeah, Add-kun how about bringing them to school during the festival?"

"You sure? They might get lost."

"We have Feurig with them, and I'm sure they love to have some fun."

"Fas~tival!"-the little Reaper and Hoya suddenly spoke. Normally, they would express their emotion by jumping up and down or making small sound. But just now, they spoke the first word of their life.

"Feuer? Did you hear that?"

"Loud and clear, Add-kun."

"They spoke!"-Add grabbed Reaper and Hoya and threw them up into the air, caught them and threw them up again in joy.

* * *

"You 2 look exactly like a newly married couple with their kids."-Shiraga.

"Did you say something?"-Add cracking his knuckles.

"YOU 2 LOOK LIKE A NEWLY MARRIED COUPLE WITH THEIR KIDS!"-Shiraga fleeing at high speed.

"GET BACK HERE YOU!"-chase after.

"So gorgeous...must...stop...nosebleeding..."-fangirling Aisha in a random dark corner.

* * *

Several days quickly passed as every last parts of the preparation: hanging poster, decorate the school gate, signing paper work. Everything has been completed.

"Sleep well tonight everyone. Tomorrow will be a long day."-Aisha reminded the class before leaving. After making sure that everything was in their best condition, the class C carefully locked the door and left. Not just class C, but other classes as well, they all were being nervous and excited to the extreme, as only a few hours left until the big event.

"G'night Add-kun. Remember not to oversleep."

"Haha, very funny."

The students of El Academy turned off the light and went to bed. But none of them could close their eyes, as the thought of the festival kept running through their mind. The exhaustion soon took over, their eyes slowly closed and they all eventually fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, as the clock ticked 6 o'clock, Add and Feuer already left for school. Following them were Feurig with little Reaper and Hoya on his back. When they arrived at school, the school gate was already crowded. They got to the class and changed into their costume.

"Wow, you guys sure woke up early"-the door of the class slid open as the others arrived. They all changed into their costume, and waited in silent. They looked through the window and saw crowds after crowds slowly arrived.

"I'm glad that everyone could be here today. And now I proudly announce,"-Eve said through the micro in her hand. Chung then pulled the red cloth covering the gate down as the clock loimted at 8 o'clock.

"The summer festival of El Academy, begin."

* * *

"Welcome to class C Cosplay Restaurant."

"Feuer-kun, 2 dishes of Lizard stake and 1 dish of Steaming Sea Crab for table 5!"

"Right away. Add-kun, the Herbal Salad and Stir fry Cutty Meat for table 2!"-the order kept coming like a flood, while Feuer got his hand full and the others delivered the food to the table.

"Here is your order. Please eat up or you will face the wrath of heaven~."-said an angel as she winked to the male customers.

"Ooh, my queen. Your faithful servant has brough you the feast, crystalized from all the essence of hell."-said a demon as he kneeled down before the female customers.

"Your idea is a big success, Feuer. The customers love it!"-Lu said from behind the curtain of the kitchen.

"Ciel-san, we need 1 El Fire smoothie, 1 Red Bean Sherbet and 1 Dessert Soda!"-Ara came in with more order on the drinks.

"I'm on it."-Ciel quickly grabbed the ingrdients and mixed them together. When the first one completed, he immediately took other ingredients to make the second and third glass.

"Bring them out Ara-san."-Ciel placed the glasses on the tray and handed over to Ara.

"I got it."-she grabbed the tray and ran back outside. And just at the worst timing, her clumsiness kicked in. She tripped over her own leg and fell down.

"You sure is talented, tripping over nothing and your own leg that is."-luckily, Add kicked her clumsiness out and kicked in next to Ara. His right hand caught the tray and saved the order while his left arm caught Ara by her waist.

"A...A...A..."-she stuttered with her face as red as the rock of Bethma. Add then placed the tray on the table and not to worry the guest, he spoke.

"The masterpieces that we putted our soul and heart into it. Please enjoy."-Add said and straightened Ara up. The others stared at them and gave them an applause. Add and Ara walked back behind the curtain of the kitchen as the applause still going on.

"Nice save out there, Add-ku-"

"Gah! What the heck did I just say? Somebody kill me now!"-Add screamed while banging his head against the wall, Ara sat down on the chair with her face still as red as Bethma rock.

"But the customers and the others like it. And I must say, that was pretty smooth."-Feuer teased.

"Stop it! I'm dying by the embarassment right now!"-after calming down, Add finally stopped banging his head.

"Ara?"

"Y-y-yes?"

"Well, about just now...you know..."-Ara just managed to calm down a bit, making eyes contract with Add made the scene flashed back into her mind.

"I'm sorry! I'll be back later!"-she said and exited the class.

"Whoot whoot! Couple quarrel right after an impression! Nice going bud!"-the others also teased Add as they saw Ara ran away.

"Shut up all of you!"-Add tried to save the situation. But none of them noticed a female in red that was emitting dark aura while watching from outside.

"No fair, Add-kun..."-Elesis whispered.

"Um, excuse me. Is this the Cosplay Restaurant?"-Elesis turned around to the one calling her.

"Rena-senpai!"

"Hi there Elesis-chan. My, I heard the others said the place was crowded, but it surpassed my expectation."

"Please come in. Feuer-kun, we have special guests!"-Elesis took Rena inside. At the word 'special guest', Feuer knew what to do. He quickly prepared the food, and took a plave with different color from other white ones.

"Special order for special guest. Enjoy."-he placed the dish on the table. Rena stared at the meat on her plate as her eyebrowns slightly twitched. But before she could say anything, Feuer started explain.

"Knowing that the elf race is vegeterian, I made the special menu with recipe that I gathered from Ann-san and everyone else. Everything in the special menu are made of vegetables, even the meat in your dish."-Rena looked at the meat carefully, then looked back at Feuer. He gave her an assured nod with a smile. So she picked up the knife and fork. She cut the meat into smaller piece and putted in her mouth.

"This is...beans!"

"You got it right. If meat is the source of protein, then bean is the meat of Mother Gaia."

"This is amazing! I never know that you guys have such amazing food recipes!"

"Glad that you like it."

"Feuer-kun! We have more orders!"-while he was explaining to Rena, more orders flooded in.

"I'm coming! The kitchen needs me. Later Rena-senpai. If you want drinks please order one from Ciel-san."-Feuer waved and returned to the kitchen.

"You sure know how to catch someone attention. No wonder she likes you."-Rena giggled as Feuer disappeared behind the curtain. Meanwhile, on the West wing, the 3rd year area. Ara had stopped on her mindless runaway. She stopped to catch her breathe, and noticed that she just ran from this side to the other side of the school.

_"Why did I run away from Add-kun? I don't know but...my heart skipped a beat and my body...acted on it own."-_the girl thought to herself grabbing her chest. When she awared about her surrounding, she saw that she ended up in the 3rd year area.

"Hm? I never seen you before. You are not from 3rd yyear, are you?"-a group of 3 students from 3rd year walked toward.

"Now that you look at it,"-one of them eyed Ara with dirty look.

"You are pretty hot. Wanna go and have fun?"-they asked a question and without letting the girl give them answer. They grabbed her hand and quickly surrounded her.

"One Flash."-a shadow with black hair dashed pass them. And in a blink of eye, their clothes were disposed, leaving only their boxers behind.

"Wah! What the heck?"-they yelled trying to cover their body while the others stared at them with awkward expression.

"She is my kouhai. If yoy mess with her meaning you are messing with."-the savior revealed himself as he sheathed the shinai in his hand.

"Tch, it Raven!"

"Hey! We have a public exposure here!"-someone shouted to call the disciplinary squad, and just in time, Valak anf Noah arrived in time.

"Don't think you got away with this!"

"Stol right there! You have violated rule 73, Gaia section, no public exposure in school!"-Valak blew his whistle while Noah read out loud the school rule. They chased after the 3 as the others got a big laugh.

"You okay there, Ara-kun?"

"Y-yes, I'm okay..."-Ara answered with a smile, but it couldn't escape Raven sharp eyes.

"Are you worrying about something?"-he asked.

"Well..."-she answered.

"If you don't want to talk, it fine. But if you need help, you got your senpai right here to give you advice."-Raven pointed his thumb at his chest confidently.

"Recently, there have been this person. I just can't get my eyes off of him. But whem we make eyes contract, I feel a weird feeling inside my chest, and my body just acted on it own. I don't know since when I have this feeling and how to deal with it. And right now, I feel at lost."-the girl spoke up her dilemma and rested her chin on her arms.

"Do you know why a sword need a wielder?"-Raven asked.

"Because...they cannot fight by themselves?"

"Well, that is one reason. The other reason is because, they are alway at lost, just like you right now."

"Like...me?"

"Yup. The reason why a sword need a wielder is because they need someone to guide them. Sword don't have eyes but the wielder does. So if the one that guide them is bad, they will do bad thing, but if the one that guide them is good, they will do good thing. If you ever feel at lost, find someone that can trust, to aide you through the problem. You got a lot of friends around you, so that is also a gift."

"Most of them, I don't really understand. But thank you for hearing me out and for the advice, Raven-senpai."

"A senpai duty is to guide his kouhai. I should be getting back now. My class is a dojo for those that wanted to release their anger. If you need to, you are always welcome."-Raven waved goodbye and walked back to his class. Ara bowed and also ran back.

"Thanks for the meal everyone. The food and drink was really good. I will tell the other elves about this place."-Rena complimented as she was about to leave.

"That would be a big help for us. By the way, I haven't seen Alisa-san anywhere."

"Well, the girl have been a bit strange lately. Like spacing out, and other stuff. Look like she got a crush."-Rena giggled.

"My, I wonder who is the lucky one."-Feuer laughed while seeing Rena off. And just a couple more turn before Ara returned to her class. But at the last corner, she saw a familiar girl with long green hair.

"Alisa-san, what are you doing?"-Ara tapped Alisa shoulder and startled the girl.

"A-A-Ara-san, you scared me."

"Wah, sorry, I didn't mean to. But what are doing? Are you looking for someone?"

"Well, yes...but I don't want to call him out while he still working."-taken over by her curiosity, Ara looked at the direction that Alisa was looking, and saw Feuer was talking with Rena.

"You want to meet Feuer-kun?"-Ara question startled the girl as she sweated heavily.

"C...can we talk about this somewhere else?"-so as Alisa suggested, the 2 left for the roof. After a while of stuttering amd gathering courage, Alisa finally spoke up her mind.

"B-b-b-by tomorrow, can you ask Feuer-san to come to the back of the school at lunch? I have something that I need to talk to him. Recently I have this strange feeling in my chest every time I think of him. I don't know what it is but I feel lile if I don't take with him, I cannot get rid of this feeling."-Ara stared at her and felt how such a similar situation that they both were caught in. Alisa must also felt at lost, so Ara remembered Raven word earlier.

"Look like we are the same, Alisa-san."

"You mean..."

"Yes, I recently I also have a strange feeling when I think of a person. I also felt at lostz not knowing what to do. But senpai told me I should find someone that I can trust to aide me. So Alisa-san, you can trust me. I'll become your aide."-Ara putted her hand on Alisa shoulder to reassure her.

"Then I'll be putting my trust on you. Thank you Ara-san."

"Worry not, leave it to me!"

And so, the first day of the El Academy summer festival flew by. 2 days left to go, for the big show and the unforgetable memories.


	15. Chapter 15: A maiden in love

**Shiraga: **sorry for the late update guys. Was being kinda stuck with how to process with this chapter, but look like managed to finish it at last.

This chapter special character: Amethyst, in human form instead of a freaky ghost.

Enjoy folks.

* * *

Chapter 15: A maiden in love

* * *

"3 Lizard Steaks with Cactus sauce, 1 Steaming Sea Crab coming right up!"

"Add-kun, El fire smoothie and Herbal cocktail for table 2 is ready!"

"I got it! Oi, someone take out the trash!"

The second day of the El Academy summer festival. The number of guests was even greater than the first day, which made everyone speed up their pace, without even a single moment to catch their breath.

Meanwhile, in the school North Garden, the little Reaper, Hoya was riding on Feurig back. Feuer lent them some allowance, but who knows how long can it last.

"Takoyaki!"-Hoya shouted after seeing a takoyaki stand. He patted Feurig head to signal him to come closer.

"Hello little guy. You want some takoyaki?"-the owner of the stand asked with a big smile.

"Waah!"-both of them nodded while showing one finger.

"One hot takoyaki coming right up. Enjoy."-he said and handed over a white box full of hot takoyaki to the 2 little ones. They happily paid the monet and took the box. The 2 quickly shoved one into their mouth and enjoyed the delicous food as their cheek turned pink from the heat.

Reaper took a takoyaki, hopped on Feurig head and shoved it into his mouth. The trio proceeded into the school building to find some entertainment. They saw several girls ran to direction where they came frome, screaming. Turned out they were running away from a Haunted House. The little guys were curious, so they told Feurig to enter.

"Wecome to your final resting place~. Be sure to watch out for the servants of death ahead~!"-the one at the door in a headless ghost costume greeted and opened the door. Feurig stepped inside as the door shut close behind them. They looked behind then in front as a road with many gravestones and other weird looking spooky things appeared.

Feurig then moved forward as little Reaper and Hoya looked around to find any trace of the thing that caused the girls from earlier to run for their lives. And somehow they seemed to be excited instead of scared. From behind a gravestone, a student in a ghost costume with his head pierced by several arrows was preparing to scare off the guest. But he didn't know a real deal was waiting for him.

The skull of little Reaper then glowed as a purple shadow of a girl appeared.

"Amethyst-chan!"-the 2 called out for her.

"Morning guys, overslept a bit. But...why are everything still dark?"-she asked looking around. The guy in the ghost costume then jumped out from behind the gravestone. Amethyst got startled and starter screaming.

"Gyaaaaah! A ghost!"-being startled, Amethyst accidentally revealed her true form before the mortal eyes. The guy saw her and her screaming face, his skin started turning pale white even thought he had red blood make up on his face.

"Aaaaah! A ghost!"-he screamed at the top of his lung and ran away. Little Reaper and Hoya were jumping up and down excitingly. The 4 exited the Haunted house, with 2 smiling face and a scared ghost face.

* * *

"Woah woah woah, so you are telling me you are a real deal, and you got scared by a fake one?"-Shiraga.

"But I got startled! If I was prepared, thing would be different!"-Amethyst.

"Right..."-Shiraga.

* * *

"Hah, that was really scary."-Amethyst huffed. She then looked around to get a hold of the situation and location.

"So it that time of the yeat again, the summer festival. And look like you guys got a new friend."-she said looking down at the dog that the 2 were riding.

"Feurig!"-they said in union patting on Feurig head.

"Nice to meet you, Feurig-chan."-she said and Feurig gave a small bark as a greet back to her while wagging his tail from side to side. Normally, other dogs would start barking nonstop at a strange phenomenon like this, but Feurig didn't show even slightest bit of surprise. As if the soul of a dead one was a normal thing for him.

"So where are you guys going now?"

"Somewhere with lot of food!"-they replied.

"Kay, kay. I know this school like the back of my hand, how about I lead the way?"-Amethyst chuckled. Reaper and Hoya nodded back. Amethyst then shrunk down to about Reaper and Hoya size. The purple floating shadow then turned into a small girl with long amethyst color hair, a purple mantle covered from the top of her head down to the middle length of her hair.

"Okay, Feurig-chan. Forward!"-she patted on Feurig head to give him the signal, so he walked toward. The party kept moving and bought the food from the stall that Amethyst suggested. As she said, the food was much more delicious from other stall with the same food.

Her guide was accurate, all the stall that they visited had been making and selling the same type of food every summer festival, and their goods kept improving every year. How did she know that which food is sold and which stand is the best? Like she had been studying at El Academy for a long time ago.

"Kyun~!"-on their way to the West wing, they met Eun, Naho and Thanato. Naho waved at them.

"Friends of your, Reaper-chan?"-Amethyst asked.

"Eun, Naho and Thanato!"-he introduced them.

"What are you guya doing here?"-Hoya asked. Naho then pointed inside the class where they were standing, so they peeped inside.

"Lot of fishie!"-Hoya shouted in joy. Apparently, the place was a small aquarium with many type of fish from all around Elrios. The little guys only saw gold fish before, so the scene was fascinting to them. They quickly jumped off Feurig back and ran inside with Naho and Thanato.

"G-guys! Wait!"-Amethyst called for them, but they already disappeared into the crowd.

"Feurig-chan, let go. We need to find them!"-Amethyst patted on Feurig head. He grabbed Eun with his mouth and threw her on his back and ran inside.

"Reaper-chan! Hoya-chan! Naho-chan! Thanato-chan!"-Amethyst called for them but to no avail as the crowd was too noisy and her voice was too small.

"Where could they be?"-Feurig then barked. Amethyst and Eun looked to the direction and saw the little guys. The only were that they all were inside a fish tank.

"Amethyst-chan!"-Hoya called for her while he was riding a baby Sea Serpent, same as Reaper, Thanato and Naho.

"Hoya-chan! That is dangerous! Guy, get out of there!"-Amethyst effort was in vain. The 4 rode the Sea Serpent and raced a few laps around the fish tank. And somehow, the situation turned into a gamble.

"500 ED for the Naho!" / "1000 ED for that Reaper!"

The door then slammed open as Valak and Noah stepped in. Valak blew the whistle in his mouth with all his might while Noah read outloud the school rule.

"Rule 9, Rosso sector, no gambling in school area!"-sensing the situation got tensed up, Feurig leaped up and quickly grabbed the party with his mouth. Using the chaotic situation as a camouflag, he sneaked outside of the place and ran off.

"Never do that again!"-Amethyst scolded the 4 but judging from the look in their eyes, they will absolutely do it again if they get a chance. The tour went on as they visited the rest of the food stall.

Meanwhile, at the East gate, several cars were docking as group of men in black guarded the entrance.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation despite all your busy work, Mr Wally, Duke Rod Ross."-Glave bowed slightly before 2 men, one with an afro hairstyle named Wally while other, Rod Ross was readjusting his blonde hair.

"It is also a duty of mine to check on what I invested in, is it not?"-Wally asked back with his hand behind his back.

"I only accepted the invitation because I heard there are a lot of cute girls here."-Rod Ross said not even bother to hide his intention. They followed Glave to inside the school building, took a secret stairway to the principle room.

"Welcome, Mr Rod Ross, Mr Wally."-Ariel opened the door for them to walk in. Wally and Glave entered while Rod Ross was still paralyzing at the door.

"Will you become my bride?"-Rod Ross asked a sudden question while holding Ariel hands. But the answer he received was unexpected. Ariel grabbed his hand and turned around, threw the blonde play boy over her shoulder. He landed right on the sofa seat right next to Wally, up side down.

"I'll go and prepare some tea."-Ariel said and walked off after brushing her hands.

"Unrivaled beauty, invincible defense...just like a red rose with thorns, waiting to be conquered."-Rod Ross said even after being threw. He was still daydreaming while Wally stared at him awkwardly.

"You sure you are not an M?"-Wally asked. Rod Ross then readjusted himself to a proper sitting pose. His previous voice changed to a more serious one.

"So what is it that you call us here today, Mr Glave?"

"I'm sure you didn't invite us here to enjoy the festival, yes?"-Wally added on. Just in time Ariel came out with a tea tray.

"I'm sure you both have heard of the recent news, about the destroyed research facilities."-Glave started while Ariel poured out the tea into the cups.

"Yeah, so what of it?"-Wally asked bluntly.

"I have my men did some research. Take a look at this."-Glave handed out several documents to Wally and Rod Ross. They examined for a while until Rod Ross spoke up.

"I still don't see anything related."-he said and threw the papers back on the table.

"Take a closer look at the staff list you idiot. The head researchers and those that held a high position, all of them used to be staff member of project 'Salvatore' 15 years ago. Just like us."-Wally scowled which made Rod Ross to pick up the papers and examined it, carefully, again.

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it."-Rod Ross said with an innocent expression. Glave took off his mask and took a sip of tea while the other 2 were still arguing. Then they suddenly stopped the quarrel. And instead of speaking, they exchanged their word woth eyes contact.

_"Glave is sipping his tea right?"_

_"Yeah, which means he must take off his mask."_

_"And no one ever saw his face, what he hides behind that mask before."_

They both nodded and quickly turned around to witness the sight that no one had ever before.

"What wrong gentlemen? Your tea is getting cold."-by the time they turned around, Flave had already finished his tea and putted the mask back on.

"CURSE YOU CRUEL TIMING!"-Rod Ross ran outside while Wally remained, facepalming.

"Anyway, I wanted to remind you both that look like someome, could be an organization that is aiming for the important documents that the head researchers held. The documents about project 'Salvatore'."

"About my side, you don't have to worry. I have the National Guard, with General Helputt Seiker to guard it. No one can lay a hand on those documents without my permission."-Rod Ross reassured.

"Come to think of it, isn't his son also study here? What was it, his name..."

"Chung Seiker. Vice President of Student Council."

"Ah yes. Like father, like son huh? Also a great man like his father."-Glave then stood up as Ariel cleaned up the table.

"Well, that is all I wanted to say. Now, a big festival is waiti-"

"CUTE GIRLS! HERE I COME!"-without waiting for Glave to finish his sentence, Rod Ross slammed the door open and ran away.

"Ugh, I just can't stand that skirt chaser."-Wally said rubbing the spot between his eye browns.

"That is Rod Ross for you. Even back then, he always vhase after the female scientist whenever he have the chance."-Glave laughed and left the room. Wally also walked outside. Before leaving, Glave looked over his shoulder.

"Remember to come to the gymnasium at 12. We have a big event there today."-he said and walked off.

* * *

Back at the Class C, everyone still have their hand full. As the lunch time drew near, they got even busier and busier.

"Feuer! Table 10 ready yet?"

"Almost! Add-kun, table 12!"

"Got it! Outta way people!"

"Elesis-san! Wake up! We're at a serious lack of hand here!"

Ara plan on calling Feuer out for Aliss was still at stage one, as she couldn't seem to find any appropriate moment to call Feuer, and she also got her hand full with delivering the dishes and a lazy Elesis.

"My, look like you guys all got your hand full."-Rena said as she peeked in from the hallway window.

"Hi Rena-senpai. Looking for a meal?"-Feuer peeked out from the kitchen still having a frying pan in hand.

"I brought my friends along. My club just finished our performance at the gymnasium."-Rena said pointing her thumb at the group of elves behind her. The others including Add stared at them and screamed internally.

"Ah, the 'Song of Wind'. They broadcasted it on the TV just now. Your and Alisa-san voice are very great."

"Oh you flattered me~."

"Feuer! More order coming!"-the others called him as the kitchen needs him.

"Sorry Rena-senpai, talk later. Please come in and have a seat. Add-kun will bring the meny shortly."-Rena examined the surrounding. More than half of the class C had already worned out. So she gathered her fellow elven friends and whispered something in their ears.

"We will take over for you guys a bit."

"Heh?"-the class C jaw dropped.

"You guys take a rest. Lunch time is coming so you will need all the help you can get."-she winked as her friends took the aprons from the others and gave them time to rest.

"But is it really okay? I mean..."-Feuer was being at a dilemma as he felt guilty for making other class to help them.

"Of course I'm not doing for free. How about a good meal for me and my friends with your special menu?"

"If you say so then I'll be counting on you guys."-Feuer passed on the apron to Rena and took a rest in the staff corner.

"This is even worse than at the Glitter Hunter."-then Add also joined him.

"Oh yeah, Add-kun. How much longer til our performance?"

"Let see..."-Add turned on the schedule to check.

"Feuer-kun, can I talk to you for a minute?"-finally, Ara managed to find an appropriate time to call him out for Alisa.

"Sure, what is it Ara-do-"

"Emergency Feuer! 5 minutes left until our performance!"-Add saif and quickly ran outsode of the class.

"Darn! Sorry Ara-dono! Talk to you later!"-he waved and quickly ran after Add. On his way, he ran pass Alisa who was on her way back from the Music Clubroom.

"Feuer...san?"

At the gymnasium, everyone was taking a short break. Wally pushed the door open and walked inside to find a seat.

"Did I miss the first half of the show? Now that weird, Glave said that the show starts at 12."-he wondered to himself as the audiences got back to their seat. The sevond part of the show about to start to he brushed off the idea and sat down at an empty seat.

The light around the room then turned off as the main light concentrated onto the stage. Wally took a look at the guide that he picked up at the information desk earlier.

"Mind if I seat here?"-Rod Ross asked but he just sat down without taking 'No' as an answer.

"Where...no, how the heck did you get that many slap in 3 hours?"-Wally asked pointing at all the red marks on Rod Ross face.

"Oh you know, flirting with some here, asking some to be my girlfriend there, proposing to some somewhere else. But I must say, this place sure has a lot of cute girls."-he said showing Wally the pictures that he took off all the girl he met.

"If you weren't the Duke of Hamel then you would have end up behind the bars for public disturbance."-he said resting his face in his palm, trying to remember why did he become friend with someone like this.

"Oh, the show is starting!"-Rod Ross seemed to pay no mind about what Wally said. As the red curtain being lifted up, all the light then concentrated on the stage. On stage was 2 boys. They bowed their head to the audiences as the white hair one sat down in front of the piano while the other one lifted the violin onto his shoulder.

(*) (play Bird Poem here for atmosphere)

"Hm...this one seems to be from a club names 'Cadence'." / "Wonder what kind of club is that."

Conversation from the audiences was heard as beside the students of El Academy, no one knew about the 'Cadence'.

"Ready Feuer?"

"Ready as you are."

The 2 performers exchanged glance with each other. Add then raised gis fingers and pressed down on the keys. After the small opening, Feuer then drew the bow across the strings. The sound from 2 instruments blended into each other perfectly, creating a soothing symphony.

The music, not too strong, but as soft as a feather. Like a remedy that slowly sneaked into the audiences mind and glamored their soul. The camera from the control room was catching every moment while the sound was being broadcasted all over the school through the megaphones.

While everyone was enjoying the show, one man was sweating cold sweat heavily. He stared at the stage in confusion, and fear as his face turned white pale. He stared at Add and Feuer, but through eye sight, he saw Feuer as another man, taller but with grey hair and greatly resembled Feuer himself. And Add as a woman with long white silky hair.

"Wally, where are you going?"-Rod Ross asked as Wally stood up witg his trembling legs. He left his seat, no longer managed to keep his balance and almost fell. So he walked with his hand clenching on the wall to support himself.

Rod Ross gaze followed him until he disappeared behind the door. He just shrugged his shoulders and shifted his attention back to the stage. At the very back line of seat, Glave was watching every single action of Wally.

"Look like my doubt was confirmed. The culprit 15 years ago."-he said quietly to himself so no one could hear it. Then he also stood up and left his seat as the performance went on. Back at their own class the others, both customers and staffs were glueing their eyes to the TV screen.

"So that is why they asked me to borrow a violin. Look like your lover just become your rival in violin, Alisa-chan."-Rena gave Alisa a small push on the shoulder which made the girl looked away to hide her blushing.

"H-he is not officialy my lover yet...and I think this is just a one sided."-Alisa said back with slight sadness in her tone. Rena then raised her hand and gave a slight karate chop on Alisa head.

"Don't worry. If it Feuer-kun, and if you are the one, I'm sure he will accept your feeling."-she reassured. Meanwhile, at the back of the gymnasium, Wally was walking unsteadily while still sweating heavily.

When his figure was completely overcasted by the gymnasium shadow, he collapsed on the ground on his knees. His hand clenching on his chest where his heart located.

"It can't be...I made sure that no evidence and witness was left...the way they play the instruments...their figures...their hair color...there are no doubt..."-then before his eyes, the school ground turned into a sight of a burning facility.

Debris here and there, fire licking on the ground, the wall and the ceiling. People running to the emergency exit, some wasn't lucky enough and got caught in the flame, leading to a tragic end. A man with white hair in a lab coat, trying to save his friend being buried under the pile of rubble, but time wasn't something luxury that they have.

The malfunctioned machines exploded, engulfing both of them in the cruel fire storm. At that sight, something in Wally stomach slowly built up. He tried to hold it with his hand covering his mouth, but still threw up in the end.

"No...I must confirm it with my own eyes. To avoid all the trouble later, the nuisance must be wiped out."-he told himself with uneven breathing pace and stood up. Back on stage, Add and Feuer performance ended in the long applause of the audiences. They returned to the back stage for the next club to have their part.

"Look like I still haven't gone rusty in piano yet."-Add gave himself a compliment while resting in the back stage.

"I was worried at first. 3 days were too short too master a violin, but look like I managed to pull it off somehow."-Feuer sighed in relief as their performance was a success.

"Good show, good show indeed."-the 2 turned to the direction as they heard someone clapping. Wally was clapping his hand slowly and moving toward them.

"You are..."

"My apology. I'm Wally, mayor of Elder. The principal here invited me to the party. I was fascinated by your performance."

"Thank you for your compliment sir. I am Feuer Klugheit, and this is Add."-he greeted back and shook hand with Wally.

"Feuer-san, may I know where did you guys learn the song from?"

"From our parents."

"May I have the pleasure of meeting them someday?"

"I'm sorry, but...our parents have been far away from us for 15 years."-Wally eyebrown twitched as what he feared was true. But he hid the unpleasant feeling away to avoid any suspicious.

"I am deeply sorry to hear that. Now I must take my leave, but I have a feeling we will see each other again soon."-he said and spun on his heel and left. Add who was being quiet then spoke up.

"I got a feeling I saw him somewhere before. And I don't like him."-he said and went to the changing room to change back to his costume. They returned to the class and just as they walked in, they were stormed with wave of girls, from their class and other classes.

"Add-sama! Please marry me!" / Feuer-san, have babies with me!"

They all were squealing the same thing over and over again. But that wasn't the end. Following a wave is always a giant tsunami, and this tsubami was made of something called 'youth jealousy'.

"Curse both of you! Now all girls are foaming on you 2! Is it really that big of a problem to save us some?"

"Get off me you mindless barbarians!"

* * *

"Like you the one to talk."-Shiraga.

* * *

"Now according to law 69 of 'Loner Legion', you must face your consequences!"-one of the boy pounded the hammer on a court table az the others carried Add and Feuer out of the class.

"Now this is just like when the crowd carries the winner, but just more anger instead of celebrating."-Feuer laughed. Then someone among the crowd grabbed his hand and pulled him down.

"Feuer?"-Add looked around but Feuer was already out of sight.

"Tch, I don't have time for this."-then he jumped down and attempted to escape. But the Loner Legion didn't intend to let him do so.

"Thou shall of escape before the punishment is delivered."-the leader ordered as his underlings carried the throne that he was sitting on and chased after Add.

"If you jerk have time to build those crap and running a stupid legion, work some more on finding a girl!"-Add words stung to the deepest corner of their already broken heart. Their eyes burst into tears as their anger built up even more.

"You think we didn't try? We tried, and failed, and again and again. But our effort was vain! All our time and effort, ended up being worthless and we were never rewarded? Then we shall destroy this damned world!"

"Now where did I hear that line before?"-Add asked himself still running. He dug up his memories but couldn't remember. So he just shrugged off the feeling and concnetrated on running.

"Sorry Add-kun, look like this time you're on your own."-Feuer was hiding in the nearby corner. Then he looked to his side to check on his savior.

"Thanks Alisa-san. That was a close call."

"It nothing. Um, Feuer-san, I have something I must confe-"-the situation was just getting to the good part, then a sound of a growling stomach interrupted with the conversation.

The sound came from Alisa stomach. It coulnd't be helped. Helping her own class, singing on the stage and helping class C, all of the things above drained all of her reserved energy.

"S-sorry."-she said blushing intensely because she just showed the one she likes an embarrassing action. Then, it Feuer stomach to start growling.

"My, look like we both are hungry. You...wanna go and eat something first? My treat. As a thank for helping us out."

"I-If you say so."-she replied. The duo wandered off to the 1st year area to get some snack.

"Hm? This smell..."-Feuer nose picked up a familiar scent. He followed the trace and stopped in front of a food stall.

"Welcome, welcome. What can I get for you 2?"-the one at the stand greeted them warmly.

"2 dishes of Red Seaweed noodle with Mist Chili sauce."

"Oh, you're from Sutra, aren't you senpai? Only the native people know about that combination. 2 Red Seaweed noodle with Mist Chili sauce coming right up!"-he laughed after eyeing on Feuer costume and his knowledge about the food. After 5 minutes of wwaiting, their order came shortly.

"Enjoys. Please come again!"

"Here you go, Alisa-san. Give it a try."-Feuer passed one dish to Alisa while he helped himself out with a pair of chopsticks. Seeing the happy expression on his face after eating, Alisa couldn't help but also wanted to try. So she picked a small bite up and tried it.

Even thought the food was covered in a type of chili sauce, the spicy taste wasn't too intense, but still enough to make the food tastes good.

"You like it?"-Feuer asked.

"I love it."-she replied.

"Glad you like it. It a type of Sutra native food. With the ingrdients come mostly from Sutra, like the Red Seaweed or the Mist Chili. My mom always make these for me and my dad. But I can never remember the recipe."

"What...was your home, Sutra like? I have never been oversea before."-seeing that someone is interested in his homeland, Feuer smiled widely and started.

"You see, one side of Sutra is sea while the other side is covered with forest. Because of that, the resources are very rich."-the kept walking and enjoying the food as Feuer told Alisa about Sutra. Not too far ahead of them, Add was still being chased by the 'Loner Legion'.

(I putted Feuer descriptiom about Sutra here in italic so it would be like he is telling it while doing other things without interrupting into the story too much with the quote)

_"We catch fish and other creatures from the sea, and harvest food, spice from the forest. Especially, the underground of Sutra has an amazing natural system of steam pipe. They escape to the surface through water geyser so we have a lot of hot steam fountain."_

The 1st year area consisted of mostly plays stall instead of food and drink. They tried lot of games, like the ring toss but the target kept moving around because the 'Loner Legion' was searching for Add under the counter while he was hiding on the prize shelf.

_"Due to the large amount of steam, with the cold wind from the sea, Sutra is always foggy. So to live in an enviroment that lacks lot of sunlight, many type of plants evolved to fit with the foggy climate. The Mist Chili we just ate is one of them."_

They took a tour through the mirror labyrinth and some loners were lost inside. Feuer dominated the quack-a-mole with his fast reflex, but he didn't understand why some moles were replaced with a human head. One of them even looked like Add.

Finally, they ended up in the school yard. Feuer went to buy some drink while Alisa waited at the bench to rest.

"Sorry for the wait."-he returned with 2 cups of cold, refreshing Spirit Water.

"Hah, I really have fun today. Thanks for going with me, Alisa-san."

"No, I have fun too, so I must also thank you."-and the shortlived conversation ended as the duo took a sip of their drink while watching the crowd having fun. Well, only Feuer was watching the crowd while Alisa was stealing glance at him.

"Feuer-san. Can I talk with you for a bit? But not here."-she requested, so they got to the back of the 'Cadence' clubroom.

"So what is it that you want to talk?"-Feuer asked as Alisa inhaled and exhaled sharply to gather her strength and courage.

"The thing is..."-she clenched her hand on her chest, hesitating a bit. But she quickly shooknoff the feeling and spoke up.

"Ever since the time when you helped us with the stolen instruments, I started to notice you. Before I know it, my mind started to keep thinking about you. Everytime I see you, a strange feeling rises in my chest. And before I know it, I already...I..."-she stopped another time as she released her clenching hand from her chest. The last word somehow seemed to stuck in her throat, but she managed to say it at last.

"I like you."-the summer breeze kept blowing, the crowd kept doing what they were doing, everything was doing their thing, but time seemed to stop. The moment that felt like eternity, until a third party spoke up.

"WHAAAT?!"-the 'Loner Legion' while searching for Add happened to be close by. When their nose smelled the scent of a confession, they stayed hidden to spy on it. But what they didn't expect was the one receiving the confession.

"Why the heck are you spying on someone else confession?"-from inside the clubroom, Add popped out from the window, shouting in anger.

"We could ask the same to you."

"Guh..."-but the 'Loner Legion' and Add weren't the only one spying.

"Congratulation, Alisa-chan!"-from the roof top of the clubroom, Rena and the other elves started sounding the drums by Rena order.

"Wait, if all of you are here, then who is delivering the dishes and making the meal?"-Add question caused all of them to paralyzed. Seeing that no one answered, Add knew what was going on.

"ALL OF YOU GET BACK TO WORK NOW!"-he shouted and released a statis shock. The other spy parties quickly ran back to the class to avoid the shocking inferno.

"They sure are a bunch of funny people, aren't they? Alisa-san?"-after the spies had left, Feuer turned back just to see a speechless Alisa. On her face right now showed nothing but embarassment. So without a word, she spun on her heel and ran away.

"Alisa-san! Wait!"-but Feuer was faster. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to embrace her in his arms.

"I...I like you too."-Feuer reply surprised Alisa, but it soon changed into a smile as she returned him with a hug.

"Thank you...for accepting my feeling."-was all she said as a small tear slid down her cheek.

"Hey Alisa. Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I said I like you, but I'm still pretty new to this. So, will you teach me how to fall in love with you?"

"Of course I will, Feuer."

And so, the second day of the El Academy summer festival ended, with a new vorn love story. Only one day left, for the big event.

* * *

**Shiraga: **okay, maybe a bit too much fluff at the ending herehere, but hope you guys like it. If you don't get it, in japan, only people in family, lover and husband and wife call each other by name without honorifics. Now, later folks.

Next update: The Shrine of the Foxes.


	16. Chapter 16: Sound of the Crow

**Shiraga: **chapter 16 is up. A (very) late update (again)

Enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 16: Sound of the Crow**

* * *

The third day of El Academy summer festival. Every year, this is the day that everyone looks forward to the most, as every year in the final day, a surprise competition will be held and the participant will be all the student of the second year. Right now, all the students were waiting patiently in their class, waiting for the class president to return with the content of the surprise.

But instead of being excited or positive expression, they were showing rather a pale face while breaking cold sweat. Why? Because...

"Last year was a total mess." one of the student of class C commented.

"I know summer supposed to come along with stuff that cools you down, but paint balls fight? It not even water." another one added on.

"Was last year really that terrible? I got family business last year so I didn't take part in the big event." Ara asked.

"Everyone got covered in all kind of colors, and the school bought high quality paint so it really hard to wash them away so yeah, it's bad." Feuer replied.

"If they pull another one like last year, I'm gonna burn the whole school." Add said tapping his feet on the floor.

"Last year Add-kun was a big target. He tried to wash the paint off his shirt to the point that his black shirt that got covered in paint turned white." Feuer whispered. Then, the door slid open as Aisha walked in with 2 envelopes, a small one and a big one.

"The content of the big event is here." she said slowly opened the small envelope as the others waited nervously. Cold sweat was sliding down from their forehead as their hearts beated faster.

"The content of the big event is..."

* * *

"Treasure Hunt!" Camilla shouted into the megaphone from the roof. At the 4 gates, all the boys of second year were taking their position in group of 3 to 4. And each group had a small piece of paper with them.

"The rule is simple: find the required item on your list. They are scattered but only limited in Velder. Where the item is hid is encrypted into a riddle. So having only muscle and strength won't get you victory. Solve the riddle and bring the item back. You got until the sunset. Now, let this year El Academy's big event...Begin!" she said enthusiactically and blew the whistle as the boys started spreading out into many directions.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please sit back and enjoy the show as they will be broadcasted." from the sky, a large helicopter opened the door on it side as thousand small objects flew out from it. After coming closer, they turned out to be small flying drones installed with several camera lens on them.

"This show is brought to you by the Seraphia Inc. And now is a word from our sponsor." then from the helicopter, Nasadia jumped out and opened her parachute. She landed on the school roof and took the megaphone from Camilla.

"Eve-chan! Did you see my cool side? You saw it right? Right?" and the sponsor words had nothing to do with what was going on, but it made Even wanted to dig a hole and hide in it for eternity.

"As expected from Nasadia-san. She is as energetic as always." Feuer said as the image was also being broadcasted through their bracelet.

"I just hope she get less energetic and act like her age." Add grunted as for several times, Nasadia dropped by their house by jumping down from the helicopter after everytime she returned from a trip, with the reason being 'paying a visit to her precious daughter's friends.'

"How many times do I have to tell her I'm ain't gonna be friend with that little miss President."

After the boys had left quite a distance from the school area, the teachers gathered all the girls together.

"Okay girls, we still have work to do. Let make something good to welcome the boys when they return."

Back to the Treasure Hunt, some groups already having difficulty in solving the riddle.

"What is our first item?" Ciel asked. Feuer flipped open the list and read the riddle out loud.

"The place that tells the change. Where I stand still but wait for none." the 3 heads then started solving the riddle. To tell something in a city meaning the place must have a great view over a wide area.

"To tell something, one must be able to see it...to see...to see...to observe...Burning Hope Observatory!" without thinking twice whether if his prediction was true or not, Add ran off like a flash. Ciel tries to stop him, but too late. While Feuer remained quiet.

_"Add-kun prediction might be true. The observatory sure provides a good view that can see the whole city. So up there, one can easily tell the change of the city. But what about the 'wait for none' part?" _feeling unsatisfied, he thought more and more about the riddle.

"I flipped the whole place up side down, nothing. Sure is a waste of time."

"Maybe you should think twice before acting next time."

_"Time...time...time...that it!"_ finally, a bright idea struck Feuer.

"I think I know where." he said as the other 2 turned to him. They ran down town, to the same direction where Add just returned.

"Didn't I jusy tell you I searched that place already?"

"We are not searching the observatory." they took a turn to the right, to another large area not too far from the observatory, the Clock Tower Square.

"To tell the change can also mean telling the time. And by time we have the Velder Clock Tower. It stands still but time waits for no one." upon coming closer, they saw a man at the entrance of the Clock Tower with the badge of El Academy on his arm band.

"Show me your ID." he demanded. They showed him their bracelet, after confirming it was real with a scanner, he opened the door.

"A trial is waiting for you at the top." they walked inside and took the spiral stairway to the top where the entire organization of the clock resided. There, they saw a piece of paper got stuck on the wall using tape.

"One of the gear in here is different. Find it to receive your item." was what it was written.

"Easier said than done. How in the El are we supposed to find a tree in the wood?" Add shouted as before them, was more than 3000 gears, fitting into each other like a puzzle. Feuer trying to think of a way, then Ciel stood up.

"Let me try." he said. Add then shut his mouth and stepped back down. Ciel looked at the formation of the gears carefully while listening to their sound.

"Not this one...not this either...nope...nope, nope, nope...Ah, here we go." he reached his hand and grabbed a small gear in the middle. In a clockwork formation, if one gear is removed, the whole system will collapse. But when Ciel pulled it out, the clock still function normally, that was the right one.

The wall behind them then slowly opened, revealing a hidden chamber with a box inside.

"How did you know that was the one?"

"Assassin intuition." with that, they took the box and left the Clock Tower.

"Look like we got the second group that got their first item!" the words from Camilla from their ID bracelet startled them. Not because it was surprise, but that they were the second group.

"With his leadership, Chung Seiker and his group has got their first item! As expected from the Student Council Vice President!" the 3 stood still in silent, feeling blood rushing to their face, mostly Add.

"Again, those Student Council are getting on my nerve." Add said gritting his teeth.

"Let hurry to the next location!" he shouted but Feuer stopped him.

"Wait Add-kun."

"What?"

"If we go blind like you did just now, we will just waste more time."

"It seems like you got a plan."

"I do. I will take care of solving the riddle. Ciel-san will deal with the unexpected event like just now. And Add-kun, you got the fastest speed among us, so you will be our legs." after Feuer explained their strategy, Add and Ciel nodded, then they punched their fist together.

"So what about this box?"

"You can store the item you got in the camera drone! Again, special thanks to Seraphia Inc for providing us such incredible technology." the camera drone released a bright blue light from one of it len. The box got sucked into the blue light, on the screen of the drone showed a bar with a line 'item acquired'.

"Now, we must find a mean of transportation." they looked around and spotted a shop with bike for hire.

* * *

"So where is our next destination?" Add asked while cycling the pedals, making it spins as if the bike was ran by a turbine instead of manpower. Well, in this case it a human turbine, literally.

"Slow down for once in a while, and take a better look to the vast world out there. It Peace Road!" Feuer solved the riddle almost immediately. Him and Ciel were sitting on the back seat, trying to hold on so they wouldn't fall off.

"Got it. Hang on tight!" Add said and steered the bike away from the city center. The way he rode was recklessly. Ciel and Feuer, sometime they missed the car on the road just a few milimeters away, sometime they caught unidentified flying objects, and sometimes they even saw their live flashed before their eyes.

"Here we are." Add pulled the brake on the bike as they stopped near a walking street, where seemed like it was isolated from the rest of the world. No matter how loud the street not too far from there is, no matter how bad the air filled with dust is. In Peace Road, everything was quiet and peaceful.

The people walking, enjoying the scenery. The elders sat on the bench, feeding the birds, playing chest or just simply sat there.

"But where did they hide the item?"

"Take a better look a the vast world out there. Somewhere high again?" they looked around to find any sort of tall structure. Then the silhouette of the Harmony Tower caught their eyes.

"Ciel-san!"

"Got it!" Ciel ran toward the tower and onto the stairway. He reached the top and saw other people was enjoying the view either through the telescope of with naked eyes. He looked around fo find anything that could be another riddle. But he found none.

_"Think Ciel. They didn't choose this place just for fun. Hmmm...Harmony...!" _thinking he knew where to look, Ciel moved closer to a telescope and scanned the area around them.

"One gotta be nearby..." he looked through the telescope, looking for something. Then his gaze stopped at a street performer. To make sure, he inspected the street performer closer, and saw on the lute that the man was playing, the badge of El Academy.

"Feuer-kun! Your 9 o'clock, the street performer, it him!" Ciel said through the phone. Feuer after receiving the new lead hopped down from the bike and ran toward the street performer.

"Show me your ID." just like the first one, he demanded to see the ID. Feuer showed his bracelet as the man confirmed it. Then he played a short tune with his lute and smiled.

"You passed." he said and opened the bag under his feet. The box with the item was inside.

"Ciel-san, we got the box." Feuer informed Ciel while the man stared at him. He pulled up the red bandana on his forehead for a better look at Feuer and Add.

_"So it was these two huh?" _he thought to himself and gave a small smile. When they were about to leave, the man called for them.

"May I ask any of you know someone name Raven?"

"He is our senpai, is something the matter?"

"Can you guys deliver this to him for me?" he asked and handed over his lute.

"Just tell him it from 'Noel'. And send him this message for me." after receiving the message and the lute, they hopped on the bike as Add pedaled away to the next location.

"The time has come. What will your choice be, young master?"

* * *

"How many item we got so far?" Add asked as he kept pedaling. So far, everything went smoothly. They already got most of the item on their list. But they didn't have much time left either as it was already noon, the sky already turned to a soft yellow color.

"Only 3 left! Here is the next one. Took one step into the garden as I saw flowers bloom, as time flies you shall find me at the end of my prime."

"At the end...is it the subway?"

"No, they said the location will only limited in Velder. Flowers...the Prosperity Road! Blooming flower can also mean the rise in a good way of something like economy." with the destination located, Add pedaled with all his might toward the end of the Prosperity Road. The long road was one thing, dodging the peopke on the street was another problem.

"Stop right there you delinquents!" the policed blew his whistle as they way Add rode the bike caused quite a mess. He didn't hit anyone nor anything, but he did give the people on the street a good scare.

"Shoot, the police got us!" as the sign of the El Academy badge got in sight, they quickly jumped down from the bike.

"Show me your I-" the man in charge was about to speak, Add punched the wall behind hin with great force that it left a hole.

"Here!" he wasn't intended to scare anyone. He just wanted to do it fast so they could continue running as the police was coming close. But the way he did it was more or less like he was about to kill someone.

* * *

"Now I know why the other two call you barbaric." Shiraga.

"Tell me about it." MM and DE.

"Got a problem?" LP cracking his fingers.

* * *

"H-h-here is the item." the man said with shaky tone as he handed over the item.

"Thank you." Ciel took the item and showed it to the drone. It scanned the item and stored it away.

"Now go go go!" Feuer hassled. The trio got away just in time before the policeman could catch them.

"Huff huff...so you want to race? I'll give you one!" the police said and ran back to grab his bike. But after 5 steps, he stopped to catch his breath while holding his side.

"Man, these kids just don't know how to treat their elder." already got far, Feuer immediately worked on solving the next riddle.

"Since ancient we were seperated. Travel the azure path as our fate shall cross. Something that was seperated fron long time ago?"

"Like...land and sky?"

"No, like the continents. Add-kun, head to Port Lurensia, I know where to find the item." Ciel said. Add then steered the bike away from the city, heading to the sea. Not much time left, part of the sun has already dropped behind the horizon. They arrived at Port Lurensia as Ciel looked for something on the side of the ship.

"There it is!" he shouted in joy as they ran toward a big ship, with blue paint color, the outline and decoration on it showed that it was one of the luxury. On the flag that was flying in the sea breeze was the name of the ship, 'Fate Binder'.

It was one of the oldest and most famous ship in all Elrios. Because ever since it was created, it main purpose was to transporting goods from Velder to Hamel, back and forth. Many great successes were achieved thanks to it, and the biggest one was the alliance between Velder and Hamel, the alliance with oldest history between two countries in two seperated continents. Even greater than those with the countries in the same continent.

The trio left the bike and climbed up on the ladder dangling on the side of the ship with the sign of El Academy and an arrow pointing up. They got on board and looked around for the where about of the item.

"The thing you are looking for is up here." they heard a voice and looked up. The part wherw the chimneys stood, Raven was there, waiting for them.

"Raven...senpai?" Feuer asked in surprise.

"This is the last stop. The two last items on your list, both are here." he sais patting his hand on a large box next to him.

"So you are the one in charge of this stop?"

"Correct. And your test at this stop is to get the item. And in order to do that," then, Raven stood up and grabbes his shinai. He pointed the wooden sword at the trio at the light of the setting sun shone down on them, forseeing a fiercing battle.

"You will have to fight me."

"Sounds good to me!" Add shouted and with a jump, he leapt into the air towars Raven. In return, Raven leapt down from his spot. Add threw a punch enhanced with electricity while Raven with a swing of his sword and precise calculation, with a wooden sword he parried Add's attack which has enough force to leave a hole on a steel plate.

"I have been wondering this for some time, but what is Raven-dono power?" Ciel asked.

"To be frank, we don't know either." Feuer answered.

"In our fight last year, he took on both of us without using his power. Even at school we have never seen him use his power even once. But there is one thing that we know, " as the two talked, Add and Raven descended and continued their match on the ground.

"His 'Contract of El' ranked S and he is one of the 3rd year elites, just like Eve-dono." the fight between Add and Raven was intense. While Feuer and Ciel were talking, they had already caused some damage here and there on the ship.

"Well then, let get the item while they are busy."

"Shouldn't we help Add-kun?"

"Nah, if we intefere, Add-kun will get mad. He knows that Raven-senpai hasn't bring out all his cards, yet last year it took both of us to pull a draw on him." Feuer said and looked at Add battling with Raven with a smile on his face.

"To Add-kun, that was an utter defeat. And more than anyone else, Add-kun hates the feeling of defeat. That is why, he sees Raven-senpai both, as his rival and his goal, someone that he must surpass."

"Electron Barrage!" Add threw 5 punches with electricity at Raven but he dodged. The force from the punches were strong enough to make a huge hole on the wall 3 meters away from Add current position.

"You missed." Raven mocked and was instantly received a downward kick from above. He swiftly parried it with his sword and deflect the attack away from him. Resulting in Add's kick met the floor of the ship instead his target. But he was unfazed as quickly using his left leg that is now on the ground, he threw a roundhouse kick with his right leg.

"There is more of where that came from!" but yet again, Raven dodged by moving slightly to the left and raised his sword. He swung it downward and knocked Add back, luckily Add brought up his arms to block the attack in time.

"I see that you got stronger in the pass one year." Raven complimented.

"Shut up you bastard! Why won't you give it your all? Why won't you use your power? Am I that unworthy as an opponent to you?" Add patience was reaching it limit.

"No, you are strong, very strong and a worthy opponent. But I will not use my power recklessly."

"If that is the case," again, Add stamped the ground with great force and rushed toward Raven.

"Then I'll force you to use it! Sliding Slam!" dashing around Raven with great speed, Add threw a punch everytime he passed Raven. With the help of the electricity surrounding and enhancing hia body, as Raven dodged the attack, Add could quickly react and start another attack, leaving Raven without any chance to counter.

_"His attack is fast thanks to his power but he cannot do it forever..." _jusr as Raven predicted, when Add got behind he locked his fingers together and raised them up high.

_"An attack from above...I can redirect i-"_ Raven turned around and was about to brought up his sword. Then he felt a cold running down his spine. Add hands were coated in electricity, just like any of his other attacks.

But to Raven, this one was different, it was dangerous, his sense was telling him to avoid it, but he didn't have enough time, so instinctively, he swung his sword upward and sent out a strong wave of energy.

"Guh?!" Add quickly released his attack and brought his arms close to his head into a cross shape to lessen the damage. He got knocked back quite a distance but landed safely.

"Finally, as long last! Now I can fight you at your fullest!" Add laughed in joy even thought he got a few gashes and cuts while his shirt was torned.

"What...was that just now?" Raven asked himself quietly. His hand was still shaking a bit while several drops of sweat slid down from his forehead.

"That pressure just now...was that Add?"

"What are you spacing out for? Break time over, ready for round 2!" Add shouted and rushed at Raven again. Raven brought up his sword, putting his thought aside.

"We got the item." while the two were occupied sneaked to the chimneys and retrieved the items. Add was all ready for another round but with the sudden announcement from Feuer, he tripped and slid on the ground.

"Are you for real?" he shouted in anger.

"Finally..." hearing the voice of a third party, they all looked to the direction where the voice came from. But only after 3 minutes, the owner of the voice showed up.

"You delinquents...I got...you all now...nowhere left...to run..." the police that chased the trio earlier was persistent. He tracked them down here, but took him too long just to get here. He was talking while grabbing his side, huffing heavily.

"Yeah...no." Add said as they all jumped over the handrail and jump off the ship. They quickly ran for the bike and got on. Now the number of passenger increased by one. Add stamped on the pedal and started cycling with all his might as they wasted too much time and El Academy wasn't any close to Port Lurensia.

* * *

"It almost time. Have all the group returned yet?" Helle asked checking her watch.

"Most of them." Camilla answered. At the main gate, the girls and the group that returned earlier were waiting. Only 10 minutes left and the sun will disappear completely behind the horizon. Then, from far away, the silhoutte of a bike was coming.

"Look! Another group has returne-"

"Outta way!" they heard the one who was riding the bike shouted, so they stepped aside to make way.

"We are almost there!" Add said. Only a little bit more until their goal. Add's legs were at their limit. But, the road to victory was never flat. The front wheel tripped over a small pebble, with the force of 3 men on the back seat, the back of the bike lifted up and started rolling toward the gate.

"Oh...crap." the 4 rolled toward the gate like a ball made of flesh. Luckily, thanks to Add warning earlier, there was no casualties. Well, except for the 4 on the bike.

"We got all the items on the list!" Feuer said and raised the list in his hand up high as Raven grabbed the stamp and gave them the seal of approve. And just in time, the other groups had also returned.

"Congratulation boys. You all passed just in a nick of time. Now, I gladly announce, the Treasure Hunt event of El Academy Summer Festival the 16th time, was a great success." as Camilla announced, the whole school gave a long big applause. Add, Feuer, Ciel and Raven sighed in relief.

"We made it." Ciel sighed.

"That was a long run. But yeah, somehow we made it." Feuer gave a dry laugh.

"How did you guy even get a police on your tail?" Raven asked.

"Okay, but before all your conversations start," the 3 looked around as they heard Add voice, then they looked down as they were sitting on Add.

"Get off of me!" Add shook the other 3 off with his last bit of strength, then dropped down on the ground again.

"Add-kun." Add looked to a side and saw Ara stood there with Elesis, and Feurig, carrying Reaper, Hoya, Thanato and Naho was also there. Reaper and Hoya jumped down onto Add face to welcome him back, which made him screech slightly because of his wounds. Then Ara reached out her hand to him.

"Congratulation, Add-kun."

"Yeah, I'm back." he took Ara hand and stood up.

"By the way, what with the outfit?" he asked as both Ara and Elesis were wearing summer Yukata instead of the school uniform.

"Oh, while you guys were gone, the teachers gathered us and teached us how to make some sweets for summer. About this, they said...it was the reward for the boys hard work. So...what do you think?" Ara asked blushing slightly while fidgetting her fingers.

"T...th-they look...they look good on you guys." Add said, turning his face away to hide his red cheek. Upon hearing it, Ara hid her face in her hands with a small smile.

"You are hiding your face but just now you stared at us in the costume with indecent eyes. Add is a pervert." and there came the sudden comment from Elesis.

"What?"

"W-w-was that true, Add-kun?"

"Wait, what are we talking about again?"

"Add-kun is a pervert." then came another sudden comment from Feuer and Ciel.

"Why in the name of El did the topic of this conversation shift to me?"

* * *

Later that night, the final and biggest party was held. The whole school sat aroubd the big camp fire and enjoy the food and the sweets that the girl made. Seeing the beautiful girls in the summer Yukata, it was a feast to the eyes for the boys, so they forgot completely all the problem that they got into in the Treasure Hunt.

On the roof top, Add's group along with the others at the Glitter Hunter restaurant was qaiting for the food from Feuer and Ciel. And much to Add unpleasant, Eve and Chung also came because Feuer invited them. Althought Helle, as a special guest and the sponsor was supposed to enjoy the dinner with Glave, the school Principle, she sneaked outside and joined the rooftop party, which made Add even more unpleasant.

"You sure got lots of girl around you, Add-chan." Ann teased.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone." as the door opened, Feuer and Ciel stepped out with the food and laid them out on a big table. Everyone grabbed a dish and enjoyed the food while chatting with each other. Helle was busy taking shot after shot of Eve in the summer Yukata.

"Raven-senpai. There is something I need to give you." with the lute from the streer performer earlier in hand, Feuer gave it to Raven as his expression changed drastically.

"W-who gave you this?"

"A street performer asked us to give it to you when we were at the Peace Road. He said his name was Noel, and he also asked to deliver a message."

" 'The boss has returned.' " after hearing the message, Raven arm that was holding the lute dropped, hanging near his side. Feuer titled his head to a side in confusion and was about ro ask him what wrong, the others then called out for him, so he saved the question for another time and returned to the other.

"Oh, here comes the big show." Aisha shouted as they looked up on the sky. From many direction, several small dots of flame were flying up into the air, leaving a small tail behind. When they flew high enough, they exploded into a giant flower of sparkling light. With the gorgeous firework show, everyone raised their glass in their hand.

"Kanpai!"

They cheered, except for Raven. He was leaning against the wall, with his head down, deep in his own thought. On a tree not far from there, a group of crows after observing the thing they needed, stretched their wings and flew away.

While a little far away from there, on a street somewhere, a policeman was still doing his duty while his condition wasn't really good.

"Just...you wait...you delinquents...I'll get you...for sure..."

* * *

**Shiraga: **and that done with the festival arc. Next chapter, a reunion with lots of family issues.


	17. Chapter 17: A family

**Shiraga: **whew, could be the longest chapter ever.

Yay for early (really?)update

Enjoy folks.

* * *

**Chapter 17: A family**

* * *

"Add-kun, I'll be going then." Feuer said at the door. The El Academy Summer Festival had ended, everyone was tired but they all had fun. Summer had finally began, and to officialy start a relationship, Alisa and Feuer decided to go on a date.

"Later. You two love birds have fun." Add teased with Reaper, Hoya and Feurig stood next to him also waving goodbye.

"No way, we are still at the first phase."

"Whatever, just have fun to your heart content. Youth comes but once in a life time." Add gave his thumb up. Feuer waved goodbye and closed the door. He left the house and got to the North entrance of the Velder Mall. There, Alisa was waiting for him.

"Sorry for the wait."

"It's okay, I also just got here." Alisa replied politely. She was wearing a purple dress with green flower ornaments, the length of her skirt was to her knee. While on her hair was a hairband with a white flower. Feuer blushed a bit upon seeing her, but quickly gathered his composure.

"So where do you want to go first?"

"Um, I wanted to swing by the flower shop first. Rena-senpai asked me to buy something." then as they were about to start walking, asked a sudden request.

"C-can we hold hand while walking?"

"S-sure." Feuer replied, a bit stuttered and took Alisa's hand. They both were nervous, but as they started walking and after a few small conversations, their expression changed into that of the smile of a couple.

Back at the house, Add was slacking off on the sofa, watching TV. It was only 10 minutes since Feuer left, but Add quickly sit back up.

"Man, this sucks." he started wondering what he usually do. Cleaning? The house wasn't really that dirty. Laundry? Already done. Food? Feuer prepared them all.

"I'll be out for a while. Feurig, watch over them for me okay. And you two, don't cause any trouble." Feurig barked back as a reply. Add then grabbed his bag, a short sleeve black jacket and went out. The sky was cloudless, the weather was nice. As expected from the summer sky. On the street, crowded with people. Couples, businessmen, kids, the weather made them feel energetic. Even the old men playing chess in the park were also much more energetic than usual.

After walking for 30 minutes, Add took a turn and headed toward the Residential Area 3. He looked around for something, then stopped at a small apartment complex. Taking the stair onto the second floor, he stopped in front of a room and knocked on the door.

"Coming." the owner of the room called out. Shortly after, the door opened and Add walked in as if it was his own house.

"Don't expect gift from me." he said as the owner just sighed with a dry smile and closed the door. On the door, was the name of the owner written on a steel plate, 'Raven'.

"You want herbal tea or black tea?" Raven asked from inside the kitchen.

"Coffee, and if you are gonna ask 'at 9 in the morning?', yes." knowing that he was dealing with one unreasonable of a guy, Raven just quietly grabbed a small pack of coffee powder. He gave Add the coffee mug while he helped himself with a cup of black tea.

"So, you need something? It's rare to see you without Feuer." Raven asked as they sat down at the small table near the window.

"He got a date. I'm alone for today." Add replied taking a sip of the coffee.

"Whoot, lucky guy." Raven whistled.

"Now, let cut to the chase." then, Add's voice changed as he put down his mug.

"The macth we had the other day was undecisive. So, today I'm here to settle the score." he said as Raven gave a small and was about to refuse. But Add already brought up another topic.

"But first, I need to know one thing. What is your 'Contract of El'?" the room fell into silent. They both stared at each other, until Raven took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Guess there is no point hiding it anymore. Fine, I'll tell you. You already know that in the 3rd year I'm in the elite class right?"

"Yeah, being in the elite class meaning your power is ranked S."

"Yes. Actually, my power is a bit different. It-" as Raven was about to reveal his secret, the front door suddenly opened with great force. Came in 2 men, one with a sword in his hand while the other had a gun with a silencer on.

The one with the sword rushed for Add. He swung the sword downward which Add easily dodged, but halfway he turned his wrist and swung the sword horizontally. Add got caught by surprise, but thanks to his fast reflex he moved out of the range of the swors in time, sustaining only a small gash on his right cheek.

"Kek, you got some nerve!" irritated, he rushed to his assailant and sent his fist to the man abdominal. On Raven side, while dodging the bullet he tried to reduce the distand between them. When he was in range, he grabbed an umbrella on the floor and used it as a makeshift sword. He knocked the gun away and pinned the man on the ground.

"Who are these chumps?" Add asked wiping the blood on his cheek away. Then from the window, another one leapt in. Add turned around to intercept him, but the man was faster. He got behind Add and with a chop on the pressure point on the neck, he knocked Add unconscious.

"You...Noel?!"

"Young master, if you don't want your friend to get hurt, please come with us. The boss wanted to see you." being in a disadvantage in number and Add was unconscious, Raven got no other choice but to comply.

"Fine. I do have something to talk with that old man." he said and left the room while outside the gate of the apartment complex, two cars were waiting for them. Noel turned around and swung Add over his shoulder. As Raven got onto the first car, Noel threw Add onto the back seat of the second one.

"Why did you even bother bringing him along?" the driver asked.

"He might catch a cold if we leave him like that. And I have a feeling this kid might somehow resolve whatever happened between young master and boss." with that, he got onto the car as the driver started the engine and drove off.

* * *

The two cars stopped in front of a large wooden door. Noel got down and the other two pushed the door open.

"Welcome back, young master!" inside, the crowd formed two lines and bowed their head as Raven stepped in. All of them had a few things in common. They all had scars on their face or other parts, some had tattoos, but one thing for sure, they all carried with them at least two weapons. Well, these things were to be expected as the place were the house of an infamous yakuza leader, Corvus and also Raven's father.

The outside was plain, with a giant wooden gate and high white wall, like a fortress. While the inside looked astonishing. The main path leads to a giant structure made off mostly wood. On the side, an Eastern garden which just by a glance, even a normal person could tell that it was created by a professional hand.

The foliage of the trees were carefully trimmed into a shape, a big lake with the fishes swimming in a carefree manner and the sound of the birds playing with each other. Those are the scene that could only be found in the mansion of a land lord.

Raven walked in as the two lines of his father underlings continued to bow their head. He stopped in front of the main house with a very displeased look on his face.

"Never thought I would be coming back here." he said to himself and pulled the door aside. Taking off his shoes, he walked inside to look for the master of these wealths. Could be nervousness of reunion after a long time, or it could also be due to anger. In this case, it was due to anger as Raven walking pace was faster than usual and he made a loud noise for every steps.

Then, he halted at the paper door with a giant drawing that took four whole panels to make a complete picture. On the left side of the drawing was a group of crows, descended from heaven with their black wings spread wide. On the right side was the human of mortal world. The picture looked like it was showing the crows as the harbinger, and the humans were their victim.

Raven walked in. In the middle of the room, was a man with tall build, the right sleeve of his yukata was left hanging, revealing his scars covered body. His hair tied into a high ponytail while the front bang was left hanging, covering most of the upper part of his face.

"Old man!" Raven shouted. The man was enjoying his drink then turned around to look at his son. Even though the front bang covered his eyes, Raven could see the cold gaze of his father. Even to his own blood and flesh, his gaze was cold, emotionless as if they were strangers to each other.

"So you are back, my insolent son." his voice, not even a glimpse of warmth was shown. Raven gritted his teeth and charged. The man slowly stood up, as Raven threw his punch, Corvus grabbed his arm and threw Raven into the corner.

"Why did you even drag me back here?"

"You are my son so it is only natural that I drag you back to the place that raised you up."

"No, mother was the one that raised me! This place taught me nothing and you, you just take away everything from me!" Raven raised his voice and stood up to charge at his father again.

"Look like I need to beat some sense into you." Corvus said calmly and intercepted with Raven attack. Outside, the others were preparing in the main dining hall to welcome their boss back.

"There we go again." Noel sighed.

"Noel-sama, what about this one?" one asked as they dragged Add out of the care, still out cold.

"Get him a room to rest. He is a friend of young master. Now, I have 2 hot heads that I need to calm down." Noel said then walked inside to prevent Raven and Corvus to cause anynore damage. The others complied and brought Add inside. They left him in a small room in the back to rest then returned to help the others with the preparation.

"Still up for more you insolent son?" Corvus asked. The match between him and Raven was one sided. While he was unharmed, Raven received quite a beat up. And the room wasn't in any better shape either after the fight.

"Stop calling me your son! I don't have a father like you! I don't have a father...that killed his own wife!" Raven spitted the blood onto the floor. He hissed while Corvus just stood there in silent.

"Wow, it not even 10 minutes since you got back yet." Noel leaned against the paper door. The room was in complete mess.

"Noel, you are in this with him?" now Raven gaze shifted to Noel.

"I would be lying if I say I'm not. I just want you to clear the misunderstanding between you and boss."

"There is no misunderstanding in this!"

"Hmph, you are not only insolent but look like seeing after too long, you have become a bird brain." Corvus mocked. Raven turned back at him with full of hatred, to the point that he just wanted to kill this man right here, right now.

"Get clean up. We will save this topic for another time." Corvus said and pulled the whatever that is left of the door, leaving Raven and Noel behind.

"Tch, you damn old man." Raven cursed and wiped the blood on his face away. Noel with the box of first aid kit sat down to treat Raven wounds, but he insisted that he could do it by himself, so Noel passed the first aid to him.

"Quite a reunion, isn't it?"

"Give me a break. I would never want to see his face again. I don't think he ever considered me as his son." Raven said while disinfecting his wounds and putting bandages on. Noel sighed and stood up.

"After you done with that, get dress up. We are throwing a big welcome party tonight for the boss."

"Yeah ri-" Raven was about to bluntly refuse, Noel said another thing which made him shut his mouth instantly.

"The boss of other gangs will also come. The son of the biggest boss doesn't attend will also mean a great disrespect. Unless you want Velder to rain blood tonight, you better come." with that, Noel received another grunt from Raven before he left the room.

Day passed by as night fell. All the bosses of other gangs had gathered in the main dining room while their surbondinates stood guard outside.

"Today, we cheer for the return of our leader, Corvus-sama. Kanpai."

"KANPAI!" they all raised the small red wooden cup in their hand and cheered. As the boss finished their drink the maidens next to them refilled it with sake wine.

"Oi Corvus, because you disappeared for so long, we didn't get to have any fun."

"True, my surbondinates are all itchy and ready for some massacre."

"Easy gentlemen. You all will get to wreck havoc to satisfy your thrist soon. Tonight, we drink. Kanpai!" Corvus said then lifted his cup and drank up it content.

"The father disappeared but why also the son? Many times I paid a visit and your son was never at home" one of the boss asked. Raven was sitting next to Corvus, donning a red yukata, with pattern in the shape of flying crows. Corvus glanced at him. Raven remebered that Corvus mentioned just before the meal that if he said that he ran away from home, it would cause quite a ruckus so he had to make up a lie.

"Thank you for your concern. The thing is, while my dad was gone a few small gangs think that they can use this chance to take over Velder. So, in my father stead, I am obligated to remind those patheic the place they belong." after hearing it, all those presented in the dining room laughed loudly with satisfaction.

"Look how the little boy in the old days have grown."

"Very good, Raven-kun. I look forward to the day to see you take the life of your first police scum."

All the praise, all those ass-kissing, they disgusted Raven. The world of yakuza, the world stinks with guilt and blood. The world where these people make money on other people suffer. How can they even live in this world? How can his father even live in this world? And how can his mother fell in love with someone from this terrible world? He felt something building up in his stomach.

"I will be taking my leave. Please continue your drink." he quickly stood up and left the room. The others looked after him until the door closed.

"He must be tired. Can't be helped. He have been running around Velder taking care of the rebellion factor in my stead and didn't return home until this morning." Corvus came up with an excuse for his son. Luckily, all the guests thought it was real so they just laughed.

In a small room at the back of the mansion, where Add was resting. Being hit in the pressure point on the neck was no joke, for a normal human that is. Add was no ordinary human, but being hit on the spot still caused quite a pain. He was trying to rest, but the crows on the roof keep cawing which pissed him off.

"Enough with your crap already!" he jolted away from the bed that was prepared for him and shouted at the crows. Luckily, the his big mouthing chased the crows away. Then, he looked around to find him in a strange place.

"Now where the heck is here?"

"Oh, you are awake." while was still wondering, Raven came with a tray of food in his hand.

"Raven? What with the costume? And where are we?"

"You must be hungry. Eat this first, I'll explain everything in order." he handed the food tray over to Add as they both sat down.

* * *

"So, you ran away from home because you gate your dad and his dirty work." Add calmly replied after hearing Raven story while shoving the food into his mouth.

"As expected from you. Not even the slightest bit of surprise." Raven gave a small smile.

"A queen wannabe demon, an arrogant student council president not to mention Elrios creepiest foster father." he whispered the last psrt about Glave quietly.

"But you know, running away ain't gonna solve anything."

"Then what do you expect me to do?"

"Sit down and talk." hearing Add's suggestion, Raven raised his eyebrowns.

"Oi, what does that suppose to mean?" he said, a bit irritated.

"No, nothing. It just...to hear such solution from someone as reckless as you were really surprising."

"Tch, if you don't want my idea then fine!" Add said turning his head away as Raven laughed a bit.

"Kay kay, I'm sorry...But my old man isn't the type that you can easily reason with."

"You'll never know until you try. You are lucky, that you still have your father. My father was a researcher, so we barely get to talk much." by then, Add had finished his food and put the bowl back down on the tray. He then leaned back a bit and looked up into the sky.

"Even just for once, I want to see my dad again, just to have a long chat with him, to know him better." at that moment, Raven stared at Add with admiration. Even though he was older, even though he was his senpai, yet the one in front of him right now, the way he talked was more matured. Raven felt ashame.

"Hm? Feuer cal- oh shoot! Completely forgot about him!" Add grabbed his phone and saw texts from Feuer. He quickly texted back while thinking of a reason for excuse. Raven clenched his fist then looked up to the sky, his eyes full of determination. He then took the tray and stood up.

"It's already late. Get some rest. And about your suggestion, I'll try to talk with my old man tomorrow." Add stopped his texting for a while and stared at Raven as he left. A wide grin formed on his face as he erased the previous message to text a new one.

" 'I will be home late for 2 days, don't worry about me' and send...Now that more like it, big guy."

_"Maybe you don't know Add, you don't need to fight me to prove you are stronger. You are already very strong." _Raven though to himself in his own room. Having high expectation for tomorrow, that night he slept soundly even in the house that he hated most.

* * *

"Tch, why does that bastard have to return now? We almost have Velder in our hand!" after the feast, when all the bosses had returned. They did not return to their domain, but instead gathered in an abandoned storehouse.

"Just as the final phase was about to be set in motion..."

"The bait we used to lure him away lost it effect faster than we expected. We need to get rid of Corvus, soon! Or else our plan will all be ruined!"

All the commotion went on and on, all about how to get rid of Corvus as he is the biggest and also the strongest one amongst them. He had been a thorn in their eyes for a long time, but none had the guts to stand up against him, so they banded together. Even so, they are still a bunch of cowards.

"Gentlemen, may I suggest an idea?" a voice rang. All the conversations stopped as they all looked to the owner of the voice. It was a man with ample build, but his body was more round than that of normal human.

"What do you have in mind, Dafarr?" they asked. Dafarr, as others called him, talked as his curled beard moved with his lips.

"By tomorrow night, at the Southern Gate there will be a transaction. Weapon trafficking. We will lure him there, while at the same time, leak this information to the cops. With his achievements, he will suffer if not a death penalty, then will be a life time of imprisonment." he stopped for a bit then continued.

"And you all might as well want to get rid of his son, Raven. Even if you all protest, we all bide the rule of yakuza. If the head dies, his bloodline shall succeed him." hearing Dafarr plan, they all nodded in agreement. After a few discussion, they all came to the final decision."

"Very well. Be it that way. The time of the crow has ended, it is time for the throne to change it owner." all of them, indulged in their own fantasy. Behind the mask of cooperating with the other, each of them already have a way or two to kill the one sitting next to them. But they all let their guard down. Outside the storehouse, a shadow with four legs was listening and recording every word. As soon as the secret meeting ended, the shadow ran off to deliver the new.

* * *

"You still haven't return yet?" the next morning, as Corvus and the other bosses were holding a meeting, Raven and Add was waiting in the garden.

"Not until you have a proper talk with your dad." Add replied and threw some food into the big lake for the fishes. Then the door of the meeting room opened as the other bosses left.

"Oh, look like your dad is done. Now is your ch-" Add gave an elbow push to Raven. But much to hoth of their surprise, Corvus came out of the meeting room and called for Raven.

"Oy Raven, got a moment?" he called then walked to his room. Add and Raven were paralyzed for a bit, then Add gave another elbow push. Raven took a deep breath, then exhaled. He left the garden and walked to his father room.

_"Come to think of it, I have never set foot into old man's room. And did he just call me by my name?" _Raven looked around the room and saw Corvus was waiting for him in the veranda.

"Have a seat wherever you like." he said, so Raven complied. He took a seat not too far away from Corvus. Corvus poured the sake into a small red cup and handed to Raven.

"If you are gonna ask 'at 9 in the morning?', yes." Raven took the drink and had a slight feeling of deja vu. He hesitated. Corvus then mocked him.

"Don't tell me you can't drink."

"O-of course I can drink!" Raven said and took the cup. He leaned his head back and drank up the content. But the drink was a bit heavy for him, so just after one drink his face turned a bit red.

"So, do you need me for something?"

"Do you really need a reason when a parent wants to talk to their children?" they both quiet for a while, then Corvus took out a gun from his sleeve and placed on the floor.

"Let me tell you, about Seris, about your mother." it was only 9 in the morning, yet so many strange things occured. Raven didn't think he could take anymore surprise.

"It happened sometime after I inherited as the head of this gang from my damn old man..."

* * *

_"At that time, I was still just a reckless young horse, wanting to lrove my worth to the others. That is when I meet her..."_

* * *

"Drop your weapon!" a girl with long green hair, wearing the police uniform said while pointing her gun at Corvus. In the midst of a transaction, the police spotted the rendezvous and organized an ambush. Corvus stood in front of Seris gun barrel, in his hand was a sword that cut down thousand, both police and yakuza alike, anyone he deemed as his enemy.

"You sure got some guts, miss."

"You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say and do can and will be used against you in the court of law. But there is one thing that I want to ask you."

"Begging for your life? Sorry, but I'm not that genero-" Corvus was keeping his calm and cold image, but the question that Seris asked was unexpected. Really unexpected.

"Do you have a girlfriend yet?" her question made him loose the grip on his sword handle and dropped it on the ground.

"...What?"

* * *

_"She was transfered to Velder about two months before our encounter. Due to her good performance in the previous department, they transfered her here to deal with me. And she was under Edan at that time."_

_"After that, we encountered many more times. Each time, she will always find me as we both sit down and talk, not caring even about the transaction or the fact that we were in the middle of a crossfire."_

* * *

"The lottery near my apartment the other day was clearly a fraud. When I got the number of the first prize, they said the number was a fake." Seris pouted. She and Corvus was hiding behind a pile of debris, talking with each other, even though above them were bullets and warheads flying from one side to another.

"Maybe I need to teach them some lesson." Corvus said unsheathed his sword.

"I don't think that is necessary."

* * *

_"But fate sure loves to toy with people lives. Before I knew it, I fell in love with her. Weird isn't it? Head of a yakuza gang fell in love with a policewoman."_

* * *

"Will you marry me?" another transaction, and also a big one, a weapon trafficking. While the polices and the yakuzas were doing their job, firing at will at the other side, Corvus confessed to Seris, with a wedding ring in his hand.

"Took you long enough to say that~." Seris replied calmly.

* * *

"The wedding was celebrated in silent, except for me, Seris and Noel, no one else know about it. No, there is still one more, Edan. He also love Seris, but it was only one sided. Because I'm the one she chose, he tried to hide it but I know that he holds a grudge toward me." Corvus finished his story, but there was definitely more of it. How did his mother die? Why didn't Corvus tell him?

"This gun she gave me, is the gun that she was given the day she decided to put on the police uniform." Corvus grabbed the gun and traced his finger along the barrel, the handle and other details. The gaze he had while looking at the gun was warm. Looking at him now who could say that he is Bloodlust Corvus, the head of a yakuza gang and also the strongest amongst them.

"So mother was a police...but what I want to know nost is how d-"

"Tonight, there will be a transaction at Southern Gate and it will be the last. After tonight, I'll tell you the rest. I don't expect you to forgive me, how you will react is your to decide." Corvus said then stood up and left, not giving Raven even a moment to ask his questions. Raven remained at his spot for a while sorting all fhe new information he just received. He started wondering and doubting all of his action until now. A while later, he walked back to check on Add.

"Oh, you're back." said Add.

"What in Elrios..." Raven jaw dropped. He was a little shocked as Add was covered in crows, from the top of his head down to his toe.

"That Noel guy just dropped by. He gave me some grains and...this is how it turns out. So, how is your talk with your dad going?"

"He only told me half of the story. But I got to know more about him, about my mother. Turn out, this whole time...I did everything blindly." Raven said and dropped down onto the ground, rubbing his forehead. Add the chased the crows away and sat down next to him.

"On the bright side, you managed to clear up the misunderstanding."

"I guess. Tonight will be his last transaction, he promised me that he will tell me the rest of the story, after that...I'm not sure..."

"I'm no matter what is will your reaction be, he will accept it. At last, he is your dad."

"Yeah, maybe you're right..." as they were talking, the voice of a thrid party interrupted.

"Look like you have somewhat made up with your father." they both immediately turned to thedl direction of the voice.

"You are?"

"Ah, how rude of me. I am Dafarr, one of your father followers. I established my gang in Sander, but thanks to your father guidance, I was managed to become the me of today." Dafarr introduced himself. Raven still kept mouth shut, as his instinct told them not to get involve with this man. He whispered Add to do the same. But it wasn't long until he got caught vulnerable.

"There is a message that I need to deliver it to you, from you father?"

"...?!"

* * *

"Sir, we just received news that tonight at Southern Gate there will be a weapon trafficking." a policeman came into the commander room to report the news.

"Do you know who leaked thr information?" Edan asked sitting at his desk. Next to him was Amelia and...Feurig?

"From an unknow source sir."

"Most likely one of the yakuza." Amelia guessed.

"So what recorded in this disk is true. Goodwork 001." Edan said and patted on Feurig head. Then he stood up and grabbed his sword.

"Gather the troop and load extra fire power. Tonight we are purging all yakuza in Velder." he said and left the room. Amelia saluted and went to deliver the order.

_"Let this settle whatever left between us, Corvus."_

That night, the sky was cloudy foretelling an incoming storm.

"Corvus-sama, it's almost time." Noel reported to Corvus. At Southern Gate, his gang and the other bosses with some of their surbondinates were waiting for the other party to come with the weapons.

Their presence was always well-hidden, but just in case the police poke their nose into their business, Dafarr suggested setting up watch points around Southern Gate so when the party crashers come, they will know immediately and warn the others. Corvus waited patiently with gis sword in hand. The sky was getting cloudier and cloudier as the storm came closer.

_"Seris, tonight it will all end..." _

The hour hand then pointed at the designated time. From afar, Corvus could see the faint blinkink light sending the signal. Confirming that the signal was correct, Corvus raised his hand to tell Noel to reply the signal.

When the trucks stopped, the drivers got down as Corvus stepped forward.

"Show me the goods." he demanded. One of the driver walked to the carrier behind and flicked his fingers. Two of his underlings opened the door to reveal the inside of the carrier stocked with cargos. Using a crowbar, the opened one of the cargo and inside was gun, ranging from many type.

Then, from afar, an arrow shot down and stabbed into the cargo. The arrow made from mana so it could react to its master will. As its master ordered, the arrow exploded. Combining with the amount of gun powder, the cargo quickly turned into a miniature firework show.

Following right after the warning, many cars with blue and red light surrounded the transaction area.

"Police? Why isn't the watch points reporting anything?" the underlings were startled as one of them reached for his gun. But before he could even pull it out of the sheath, another arrow came flying right in the center of his forehead.

"Sorry for the late entrance, gentlemen. Now, shall we dance?" said Amelia jumping down from her sniping spot with a flashy pick up line. Both sides unsheathed their weapon then engaged into battle.

"Sorry Corvus, but I will be taking my leave." Dafarr said then signaled his underlings to leave. But as he turned around, a police armored vehicle already blocked gis escape route.

"Surprise." said Lepand popped up from the roof of the vehicle. Dafarr's surbondinates reached for their weapon, Lepand then took aim with the auto rifle in his hand and pulled the trigger.

"And goodbye." the barrage of bullets were well aimed that it only killed the small fries and left the big one alive for interrogation. But Dafarr already escaped before long.

"He pretty fast for a fatso. Boys, spread out abd find him. You are pernitted to open fire if necessary."

The Southern Gate soon turned into a battleground. The sound of gun firing and sword clashing was heard everywhere. Then, amongst the cars that still in one piece or hadn't got blow up yet, was one that will soon blow up. The car was filled with explosive, and on the counter, on 3 minutes until it turned into a firework show.

Why would someone filled their car with explosive? Well, that would be either for a suicide attack or to erase the evidence, and in this case, it was the secons part.

Add and Raven was inside the car, being tied up. When they met with Dafarr earlier, they were knocked out cold and threw into this explosive carrier of a car. Thanks to the ruckus outside, Raven woke up first.

"Where am I?" then nearly at the same time, Add woke up.

"I got enough with being knocked out and waking up in a strange place already." he grunted, trying to break free from the rope, but they were too tight so he was thinking about releasing an electric shock to burn the rope. Then Raven caught sign of a counter and around them was tons of explosive.

"Stop it idiot! You want to get us killed? Wait there, I'll cut the rope." Raven then turned around so his hand could reach Add. With just one finger, he cut the rope like a knife cutting through the butter. Add wanted to question, but there was no tike for that. He quickly untied Raven as the counter was coming to the last 5 seconds.

Add kicked the door open as they both leapt out of the truck. The counter hit zero as the truck blew up. Because of little they got, the two didn't manage to get far away from the truck, so the shockwave hit then and they got blew away quite a distance.

To make thing worse, they sky started raining.

"Never before I feel happy to see my clothes got dirty." said Add lying face down on the ground.

"This place...is Southern Gate? Then that means..." Raven quickly stood up as he heard gun fire from afar. He ran toward the direction with a great uneasiness in his guts.

"Old man!"

Back at the battleground, as most of the yakuzas presented already retreated because their plan were spoiled and their bosses either got captured and currently under custody or already died in action. Corvus was retreating by running into one of the abandoned building and fighting off the polices on his tail at the same time. They didn't stand much of a threat to him, not even the bullets. But that was all part of their plan.

All they did were to buy time and lure him out to an open spot for Amelia. By the time Corvus got to the designated spot, he already took out all the bait policemen.

"I got you now." Amelia said as the crosshair on her sniping scope was aiming for Corvus's head. At the same, Raven was coming toward Corvus direction. Amelia concentrated her mana and formed an arrow. As her fingers released the arrow, Raven appeared on her crosshair.

"Not good!" it was already too late. The arrow had left the bow and was flying toward Raven. Amelia was about to cancel the arrow, a yakuza ambushed her from behind. She quickly dealt with him and turned back to check on the arrow. It was only a mere meter away from Raven.

When Raven was running toward Corvus, he heard a wind shattering sound. He turned around and was sure to meet his death.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, as if Ebalon the master of the night was crying. In the old abandoned building, blood was dripping onto the floor. Even amidst the storm, the sound it made was frighteningly clear.

"Old man...?" was all Raven could mutter as his father stood before him, blood dripping down from his abdominal area. The arrow then disappeared, leaving the wound opened even bigger as more blood started dripping out.

"In the end, you are still just a baby crow." Corvus mocked as his knee collapsed. By then Raven came to his sense and quickly grabbed Corvus arm to support hin from falling.

"Oi, hang in there old man! I'm going to get you to the hospital." Raven said and helped Corvus to get up. When Raven took one step forward, a bullet hit the ground just a few inches away from him. He looked to the direction where the bullet came from, and from the shadow stepped out Dafarr. So he was hiding all this time and waited for this moment.

"You son of a!" Raven cursed and stared at him with anger.

"Sorry, but you two are not going anywhere." he held up the pistol in his hand and aimed for Corvus first.

"With you two gone and most of the others are already in the cops hand, I'll become the new ruler of Velder." he said as if his victory was already ensured, but for a head of a yakuza gang, his view was very narrow.

"Fat chance, sweet heart." out of nowhere came Add sending a kick into Dafarr face. The fat man got caught off guard, after a few rolls he hit the wall and got knocked out cold.

"Man, that feels great." Add exhaled sharply as he finally get to do what he wanted most to those he hates, punch of kick their face with his best.

"Are all of your friends like this?"

"No, this one is just special. Anyway, we need to get out of here!" with Add help, they tried to move Corvus out of the building and find a car to get him to the hospital. As thought everything could end now, when they just got outside of the building, the remnant of the rebellion factor with weapon in hand charged for the trio.

"I'll deal with these nuisances." Add said and left Corvus side. While Raven helped his father, Add took down all those that came near them. Then among the sound of thunder came the sound of gun fire. The bullet left a long cut on Add shoulder, but none of their assailants were using a gun. Then who?

"I...I shall become...the new ruler...of Velder!" Dafarr recovered from Add's attack just in the worst timing, still mumbling about his fantasy. But before he could pull the trigger again 3 bullets, 1 on the firing hand, one on his shoulder and one hit precisely in the middle of his forehead, killing him off instantly.

It was Raven who shot him. He grabbed Seris's gun that Corvus always kept in his sleeve pocket and pulled the trigger. But he never learn to use a gun before. Was it luck? His anger, or...was it Seris that helped him? No use in pondering about these matter now. Corvys was having a serious blood loss so they need to get him to the hospital ASAP.

They continued to move under the heavy rain. But the hardest obstacle is yet to come. When the thunder stroke, in a glimpse moment they saw Edan waiting for them.

"Some nice timing you got." Corvus mocked and stood straight up.

"Let settle this once and for all, Corvus." Edan replied and unsheathed his sword as Corvus did the same. His father condition did not allow him to have any sudden move left alone fighting, but knowing that his father can also be very unreasonable, Raven then stepped aside.

Under the heavy rain, the two men stood still not caring about anything else. All they had in mind was the weight of their sword in their hand. As the thunder stroke, they rushed for the other and swung their sword up high. One strike was all they need.

One single sound of the steel clashing against each other as the two fighters stood still in silent. Then, Edan dropped down on the ground.

"The target Corvus fought with Commander Edan and caught him off guard. He took the chance and escaped. This means we're even. Now go." Edan said then sheathed his sword and sat down crossed leg, showing that he had no intention of continuing the pursue. Raven then ran toward Corvus while Add took a long detour around Edan hoping that he won't see him.

From afar, a car closed in and stopped before them. They took caution just in case it was another ambush.

"Get in." from inside, Noel opened the door. They quickly got in and drove away. Add checked on the map for the route to the hospital while Raven ripped off his shirt trying to stop the bleeding on Corvus side.

"He lost too much blood. Is there any shortcut?"

"I'm working on it!" Add said looking desperately for a shortcut on the map. Unfortunately, the area around Southern Gate was abandoned as all the civilians moved to area closer to the city center. And the reconstruction won't take place until next year. So there was no shortcut and no one that could help them at that moment.

"Oy kid...where is the cementery from our location?" after resting a bit, Corvus managed to mutter up hi strength to talk.

"Don't talk old man! We will get you to the hospita-"

"No hospital! Take me...to Dead Man's Hill." they all looled at each other. Then with a sigh, Noel steered the wheel.

"Okay, you're the boss. Lead the way kid." he signaled for Add. Add looked for the name on the map. He showed the way to Noel as they drove far away from Southern Gate, but not any closer to the city either.

Despite the rain, Noel was driving at 100 km/h, not just because of little time they had, but they got 3 cars on their tail. These guys just never know when to give up. After 5 minutes, they arrived at the destination. Dead Man's Hill, a cemetery that was built on a tall hill in the outskirt, near Feita.

"Take boss to where he wants. I'll deal with things here." Noel said when they got down from the car. He unsheathed the 2 swords on his side to stand guard. Although he told the others to go, Add decided to stay.

"You might need some help big guy. Beside, this is something between them so I have no right to be eavesdropping." Add said trying to act tough, but the large gash on his shoulder and the pain from it was killing him.

Raven then nodded and took Corvus up the stair. As they left, the pursuers finally decided to show up. Add covered his eyes as the lights from three cars were all pointing toward him and Noel.

"Look like they set up a stage for us. Boy, wanna dance for a bit?" Noel asked spitting out the reed in his mouth to show that he was serious.

"I don't know how to dance." Add said as one of the pursuers rushed for him. Seeing that he was only a teenage, they underestimated him and soon regretted it. With just one punch enhanced with enough electricity to not electrocute them all in the rain, he sent the pursuer flying and hit the hull of the car.

"But I can play the music. How about some bone cracking jazz?"

"You read my mind, boy."

On the stair, Raven and Corvud was using their last bit of energy to climb. The slippery staircases were one thing, Corvus condition was getting worse by second.

"Seris...has always love you...even until the last moment of her life."

"?!"

* * *

"Where is the other party?" Corvus asked when they arrived at the rendezvous. It already passed the designated time yet the other party still nowhere in sight. He had a bad feeling, so he ordered one of his surbodinate to call back home to check on the situation.

Back at their house, Seris was waiting in her room for Raven to come back from school, but she didn't know that she will never get to her son face again.

"Hey, what are you doing here? All hands should be with Corvus-sama right now." beside all the men that Corvus took to the transaction point, he left 3 of his best fighters beside Noel as bodyguards for Seris. As they were standing guard, a strange group came in. One of them, Vardon asked. But what he received was a shot to the head instead of an answer.

"You...!" they weren't labeled as the 3 strongest for nothing. Vardon dodged the shot and grabbed the assailant by his wrist and broke it. The rest then also reached for their weapon.

"A Coup d'etat?!" McGard grabbed his spear and with a thrust, he pierced 3 in a row. To deal with those armed with guns, Vardon and his invincible shield stood at the front. None of their bullets could even make it pass his shield. Eventually, they ran out of ammo. While reloading they would be vulnerable, so using this chance, from the back Morfos leapt forward and swiftly cut their throat.

"To even think about breaking into Corvus-sama domain, these scums got some backbones." McGard said cleaning his spear.

"They knew that there was only the 3 of us. Well, they got what they deserved for underestimating us." Vardon added on.

"These are just the pioneers. I sensed a lot more outside." Morfos said clenching on his knife.

"We got disadvantage on number here. They are just small fries but fighting with that much number will soon tire us down. And we can't let anything happen to Seris-sama." Vardon said and as he finished the sentence, an explosion occured as the front door was blew into pieces.

"McGard, you stay and stand guard for Seris-sama. We'll go out there and try to find a car and pick you two up. Seemed like they had no other choice so they went with the plan Vardon came up. As Vardon and Morfos left, McGard knocked on the door of Seris's room.

"Seris-sama, something came up. Sorry to disturb but can you please prepare to leave?"

"I understand." Seris replied as McGard stood up and returned to his spot to stand guard.

_"Luckily, Raven got cram school today." _Seris clenched her fist on her chest. She then stood up and walked toward her closet and pulled one of the drawer out. At the bottom of the drawer under her clothes was a small gun. She checked the ammo in her clip and hid it in her sleeve pocket.

_"Corvus..." _

"Fatal Flail!" outside, Vardon furiously swung his flail like a tornador and sent those within 3 meters around him flying. Just like Morfos said earlier, the group they dealt with was just a small part. The rest was a lot more in number. Then from behind, a car broke it way to the front. Morfos drove pass Vardon and kicked the door. Vardon rushed in and closed the door.

The car they stole from the rebel was bulletproof, so a disadvantage now turned into their own advantage.

Back inside, McGard was escorting Seris to the back the door while taking down those that got passed Vardon. When they reached the back door, the other two also arrived just in time. Seris got on safely, but the rebel was faster than they expected. McGard took a shot in his shoulder, but he gritted his teeth to endure the pain.

"Go!" he closed the door and ran back into the mansion. Morfos took a last look at his comrade back and drove off. They managed to got away with their main objective was protecting Seris, but leaving a comrade behind placed great pain on their heart.

They left quite a distance, but they didn't get to feel safe for long. 5 cars were on their tail, and they brought firework to the party. It's not even the new year yet, and the weather lady didn't say anything about a rain of rockets either.

"Geh! These bastards!" Morfos grunted while trying to dodge all the missiles that were raining down on them. Vardon knew that they cannot got far in this state, and they could put Seris life in danger. He then used his flail to make a hole on the roof.

"Make sure you take Seris-sama to safety!" with that, he leapt down from the car and using his shield he crushed an incoming car while his flail took down a missile. But his flail was rendered useless.

"Curse this!" Morfos punched the steering wheel. In a day, he lost 2 of his closest comrades. As if things couldn't get any worse, another troop rushed in from another direction. Morfos tried his best to steer through the mess, but the number was simply too much for him to handle.

The car crashed into another one, but Morfos managed to take Seris and escaped before the car exploded. They were surrounded, Morfos glanced around and saw that they were at the foot of mountain near Commercial Area 1.

"Seris-sama, please hold onto me for a bit." he whispered. Seris nodded. Morfos slammed a small ball into the ground that exploded into a smokescreen. The assailnts vision got disabled for while, Morfos then took Seris and ran up the staircase leading onto the mountain.

At the same time, Corvus finally returned. Seeing the terrible scene, he knew that something happened. He quickly ran inside, following the track of the corpse to the back door. There he saw McGard leaning against the wall, his body covered in wounds and blood.

"Corvus...sama...we're...sorry..." was all he could muttered.

"Get him a doctor! Some of you, with me. The rest, clean up this mess before the polices come to make things worse!"

A group of 2 cars then departed to search for Seris. They followed the track of the wheels and headed to the direction. On the way, Corvus saw smoke sizzling up from many wrecked cars, and before them was the standing figure of Vardon. Even until the last minutes of his life, he still carry on his mission.

"I am grateful for all you hard work." Corvus said putting his hand on his heart, then ordered one car to take Vardon corpse back for a proper burial.

Back on the mountain, Morfos was worning out. All his gears and his strength was used up.

"Huff...huff...Hypersonic...Stab!" he dashed pass a group of assailant and slashed them continuously. Then he collapsed on his knee, the knife in his hand slipped and flew away as he no longer had any strength to hold his grip.

"Seris-sama...please forgive this useless servant..." he said and took out a remote from his jacket. Waiting for them to get close enough, he pressed the button on the remote and detonated the bomb he hid inside his jacket. A suicide attack.

Seris bit her bottom lip and continued running as the remnants chases after her.

"One Flash!" then came Edan.

"Commander? Why are you here?"

"You think this ruckus would go unnotice?" mocked Edan.

"Well, good that you're here. Now we just need to wait for Corvus to come."

"Corvus? I can take care of these scumbags by mysel-" Edan said as a bullet flew pass him and killed off the one behind him instantly.

"You were saying?" Seris asked with an innocent smile.

"Nevermind." then the 2 kept running while fighting off the assailants. They reached the end of the stair. Turned out the stair was leading to an old observatory. They ran inside to use the place as a fort to avoid being assault from many directions. Seris took care of the range attack while Edan dealt with close range. A great combination. Then one of the assailant got to the second floor of the observatory. He carried with him a sniping riffle and took aim for Edan.

Because he was too focused on the enemies in front of him he didn't notice the markman. As Edan got into the crosshair, the sniper pulled the trigger.

"Commander!" Seris jumped to push Edan aside and took the bullet. Edan eyes widened as he glared at the markman with killing intention, something that a police must always put under control. But he didn't care for any of that now.

"Bloody Accel!"

* * *

Corvus arrived at the foot of the mountain. As soon as he got down from the car, he rushed up the stair nearly flying like a crow. Along the path was corpses killed either by poison or dart. Definitely Morfos. Midway, he saw the stair got blew up and in the middle was a burnt corpse. Fear overwhelmed inside him like never before. He sped up his pace and soon reached the old observatory.

"Seris!" he ran inside and saw the interior of the place was dyed red. But the area in the center was clean, with a corpse lying in the middle. Next to the corpse stood Edan, his sword soaked with blood.

"I wasn't able to protect her...I'm sorry." he apologized. Corvus dropped his sword and ran toward Seris's corpse. He lifted her body up with his trembling hands. He patted slightly on her cheek begging for her to open her eyes. But all he got was the deadly silent.

He embraced Seris in his arms and with a scream of pain that nearly shattered the sky, the Bloodlust Corvus, shed tear for the first time ever since becoming the boss of the Black Crow yakuza.

Later on, Edan found out that the information of Seris used to be a police got leaked. Corvus personally dealt with that one and the entire gang that was hired. But the death can never be brought back to life.

* * *

"Then why didn't you tell me any of this?" Raven asked, extremely furious.

"I can't even protect my own wife, that is no different than I killed her. Edan thought that all of this was his fault, so he feels the need to redeem for his sin, even when I took all the responsibility to me."

_"Act like he was caught off guard my ass. Letting me go today was his intention all along." _Corvus chuckled at the thought that a police officer let a yakuza boss go on his own will. At last, they reached the top of the hill. Following Corvus guide, they stopped in front of a gravestone whose name was of someone that they both loved very much, more than anyone else, more than even themselves.

"Mother's...grave..."

"This is her final resting place." Corvus then sat down crossed leg in front of the grave and placed down his sword next to him, like when a person about to talk with someone.

"Hi there, Seris. Sorry for not paying you a visit sooner. I've been quite busy these day." Corvus talked as if there was really someone in front of him.

"Don't be mad dear. Looks who I brought." then he signaled for Raven to sit down. He thought that Corvus was having a hallucination due to the blood loss, but when he sat down, he too saw the image of his mother.

"M...mother...?" Raven spoke with a shaking tone. Not because of fear, but rather his yearning desire to meet with his mother. How long has it been seen he last say the word? How long has it been since the last time he see his mother?

"Hi there Raven. It's been too long. Last time I saw you were still a little boy, but look how much you have grown." Seris said with a warm smile. All her features, even her voice, they are still the same, just like how Raven remebered about her in his memories.

Seris then left her place and moved closer to Raven. She placed her hand on Raven cheek to wipe the tear that was sliding down. Even if she was just a spiritual form, Raven could feel the warmth of her touch. To hear his mother's voice, to feel her warmth, to see her again.

He longed for all these simple things, yet why they are so hard to have? Warm stream of tears slid down his cheek as he called out for his mother again and again, to compensate for all those years.

"What, you are still a cry baby." Seris joked as she embraced Raven. With his trembling arms, he wrapped them around Seris to return the hug.

"Mother...I love you..."

"I love you too, Raven." then Corvus also joined them. Even under the rain, after so long the three of them were able to feel the warmth of a family again.

"It's time." suddenly, Seris said as she and Corvus let go of Raven. Then Raven realized that Corvus had already been by Seris side, in a spiritual form. Next to him, even til the last moment his father corpse still maintained the smile on his face.

"I'm very happy to see you again. But now, we must go."

"Go? Go where? Why now? I still have so many thing to tell you, to talk with you...so many things..." Raven plead for them to stay, but no matter what miracle happen, it was impossible.

"Don't worry Raven. As long as you remember us, we will always be with you. And you are not alone." she said and lifted her face slightly. Raven then looked behind to the direction where Seris was looking. Then he saw Add.

"Come now, don't be shy." Seris told hin to come closer, so Add complied.

"You are Raven's friend, correct?" Seris asked as Add nodded.

"The name Add." he introduced himself.

"Add-kun right? Thank you for being here with my son." Seris then took Corvus hand as their spiritual form slowly faded.

"Time to say goodbye." Corvus said as they ascended higher into the sky.

"Father!" Corvus then turned around when Raven called for him. Not by the word he usually uses, but by the word 'father'.

"Don't you ever part from mother again."

"You bet." Corvus smiled back. When reaching slightly above the top of a tree, their spiritual form broke into millions small dots of light.

"We loved you Raven. We always will." and with that, they vanished completely.

"I love you guys too." the rain had stopped, as the morning stars appeared on the sky after the cloud disappeared. The sun was slowly rising from behind the horizon.

Add then walked back to his house as Raven and Noel still got things to settle. By the time he returned, it was already seven. Feuer got quite a shock because Add was soaked and he got wounds here and there on his body.

"Seriously, just what did you get yourself into?" Feuer asked after he done with putting bandages on for Add. But Add jusy remained silent. When Feuer was putting the potion back into the first aid kit box, Add leaned to a side and leaned his head on Feuer's back.

"Add-kun? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing...It just...feels nice to know you have someone that will always be by your side." was what he said.

* * *

**Shiraga: **and that done with chapter 17. At first, the flash back about Seris death wasn't part of the orginal version. But somehow I ended up throwing it in.

So, for the next update what do you folks want?

New serie

The Shrine of the Foxes

Special Chapter

Let me know in the review.

Later.


	18. Chapter 18: Vacation likes no other

**Shiraga: **obligatory beach chapter. But just don't expect any of those 'accidents' in anime in here.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Vacation like no other**

* * *

"That will be 20,000 ED." said the shopkeeper. Add took out his wallet and counted the money before putting it on the counter.

"Thank you for shopping!" she greeted as Add took the bag and walked out of the shop. Several days had passed since the incident with Raven. Ever since, he didn't go any contact from Raven, and he wasn't at his apartment either.

The plan to overthrow Corvus backfired, or was miscalculated a better word? They did manage to kill Corvus, their primary target. But because they didn't expect the Velder Police Department interference, all of the big guys got caught in one night. The media been talking about the new on TV every day ever since. What left was only the small fry that using this chance to take over Velder underworld by proving themselves with chalenging the 'Black Crow', knowing that Corvus is no longer there. But in the end, small fry is still small fry. They didn't stand even the slightest chance against the remnant of the 'Black Crow' with Noel as the temporary leader. Raven was probably sorting things out as everything turned into a total mess.

The police also stopped pursuing the remnant of the 'Black Crow', must be Edan doing. The past few days, Add was just enjoying the summer vacation like any other student, but his mind was always somewhere else. He was out buying some snack at the shopping district and at the same time get some fresh air. his walking pace was slow as he looked up into the sky and let out a sigh. Why did he sigh? There was nothing to sigh over. Raven and his father finally made up, although he kicked the bucket right after that. But...

"Haizz..." he just feel like it.

"Thank you for shopping." the shopkeeper of a grocery store nearby greeted as the customer left. Add eyes caught a familiar silhouette as it was no one otehr than Ara.

"Ah, morning Add-kun." she greeted politely. Add waved back, then glance at the big bag of groceries in her hand.

"That looks heavy." he said and offered to help her carry it.

"Sorry for making you help me carry this."

"It's okay." he replied. They were carrying the bag of groceries together, then Ara heard the whisper of the old women in the other shop about how they make a cute couple. She realized the fact that they do look like a real couple a moment later as her face heated up. She was flustering then stole a glance at Add. He was gazing at the blue sky, completely spaced out and didn't even realize that he just let out anotehr sigh. Ara couldn't help but ask.

"Add-kun is something troubling you?"

"N-nothing. It just...a few problematic things happened the other day." he sighed again scratching the back of his head.

"Have you tell it with Feuer-kun?"

"No. If I did, I wouldn't be here today. He would definitely give me and earful of lecture." Add rubbed his eyebrowns. He got apoint. He can't just go and tell Feuer blatantly that he left home for the whole day, got abducted and didn't return home at night because he was involved in an weapon trafficking where lots of people got killed. Ara got panicked seeing Add like this. She tried to find a way to cheer him up but couldn't find any. But the worldis aplace fullof unexpected event.

"Come on! Take your chance and claim the first prize! Just one COBO ticket!" as they walked a bit more, they heard the sound of the crier. A lottery stand, and the prize at the top of the board was a trip to Hamel seaside resort.

"You know Add-kun? When you are troubled, nothing beats a good rest." she said cheerfully and dragged Add alon to the lottery stand. Conveniently, each of them have one COBO ticket. They got in line and waited as Ara energetically jumped up and down while Add justobediently followed her. One was to focused while one was too spaced out that they didn't notice a woman in black coat behind a nearby ight pole even though it was summer.

"Here they come. Operation, start." she said into the communicator in her hand. The man at the lottery stand then nodded as Add and Ara moved forward.

"Hello there, young man and lady. May I see your COBO ticket please?" he asked. Add and Ara showed their ticket.

"Well then, let see how lucky you are!" Add then grabbed the handle and started rotating. Under the table, another man was hiding with a remote control in his hand. As he heard the rotating sound, he pressed one of the button on the controller. When Add stopped, a red ball fell out of the box. He took it and proceeded to the stand next to it.

"Oh! Congratulation ister! You just won the first prize!" he cheered as he rang the small bell in his hand.

"Hoh. Never thought I would win it on the first try. What about you Ara?" he said a bit surprised then turned to Ara. In her hand was a clear small ball. As she showed the ball to the man, his mouth gaped.

"T-t-t-this is...the legendary secret prize! Rumors have that they exist somewhere in the lottery box, but none ever got one until today. Young miss, RNG is smiling with you!" he let out a long speech and rang the bell.

"They have a hidden prize all along?" Ara asked as she herself was also surprised.

_"Is this what they call beginner luck? More importantly, who the hell is RNG?" _Add thought to himself. Add received the two tickets to Hamel seaside resorthile Ara wrote down her address to deliver the hidden prize. After the two is finally out of range, the woman hiding behind the light pole and the one under the table then got out of their hiding spot.

"Operation, success." they said and took of their disguise. It was Feuer and...Nasadia? Why the heck are these two together? No, what the heck are they doing together?

"Sorry for asking such a stupid request, Nasadia-san."

"Fret not boy. You guys are Eve-chan friends, so this much is nothing."

"By the way, when did you put in that hidden prize? And what is it?"

"Oh you will find out soon enough. Try not to surprise too much after seeing it thought." Nasadia smirked mischievously.

The next day, the hidden prize was delivered to Ara house. Then, they quickly held an emergency meeting at her house with very serious expression.

Congratulation for winning the hidden prize. Here are 10 COBO VIP Tickets. With these tickets, you can enjoy your stay at the Hamel seaside resort in the VIP area, and absolutely everything is free. The tickets have a GPS function that will allow you to find it from your ID bracelet. The tickets also have memorize handprint function to avoid being stolen and used by someone other than the owner.

Thank you for using our service.

Seraphia Nasadia

Upon reading the last line, Add snatched the letter and tore it into pieces.

"It that damn woman again!"

"Let just ignore Add-kun for now. But...Hamel seaside resort VIP area, and everything is free?" Feuer swallowed his salima. Nasadia did mention the hidden prize, but telling him not to surprise too much is like asking the impossible.

_"Nasadia-san, I think you went way overboard." _

"Nasadia...the one that appeared as sponsor during the 'Treasure Hunt'? Why is she involved in this?" she asked. Feuer didn't want her toknow that this was a plan set up by him and Nasadia. Anyone will appreciateit, but not Add, expecially when things involve someone, something that related to Eve.

"You know, Seraphia Inc is a multidisciplinary company. And since you won the hidden prize that no one ever win before, of course the mnage will write a letter to you by herself." Feuer made up a lie which Ara nodded with a smile without any suspicion.

"But, there are 10 tickets here and only three of us."

"Why don't we send it to others? They would love to come and the more the merrier." and so, they went ahead and contacted the others even thought Add protested because these things were from Nasadia, Eve's mother, his sworn enemy.

* * *

The next day, at Velder airport. The clock was pointing at 8:56, they will be taking the 9:00 flight and Add was still nowehere to be found.

"They sure are late." Rena checked the time for the 6th time. The girls were waiting at the airport for Add and Feuer. Ara, Elesis, Rena, Alisa and Aisha. As they waited, they noticed the look of people around was all on them. But at last, a cab stopped in front of the airport as Feuer dragged a tied up Add out.

"Sorry. Add-kun kept resisting when I try dragging him out of his room."

"Let me go Feuer! For El sake!" Add struggled to break free from the rope. But Feuer used 3 of ropes and got all his limbs tied. All his resistance now is futile.

"Anyway," Feuer then looked around and counted the number. Out of 7 tickets that he sent, only 4 came. He still have no idea about Raven because Add refused to tell him, but about Lu and Ciel, he pretty much got the gist. They did contact him the day before.

"It's a shame that some can't make it. Well, our flight will take off soon. Let be on our way." with that, they all pulled their luggage along and went to the check in place. After having their luggage and a body check, they got onto the plane. When they showed the COBO ticket to the flight hostess, she nodded with a smile and led them to the front, where the VIP area resided.

"So you get VIP treatment as long as you have this ticket? Wow." Rena said in awe and astonishment.

"Rich people are scary." Aisha added. As they were still a bit shocked, the captain spoke into the radio and reminded everyome to take their seat. They quickly put their luggage onto the shelves and sat down. When all the guests had got onto the plane, the captain and the co-pilot started the engine. the plane slowly left it parking spot and headed to the runway. After reaching the designated speed, the captain adn the co-pilot pulled the control yoke toward them and the plane lifted off, leaving the ground and took to the sky.

"We will now leave Velder and take for Hamel. We have a very good weather today so we will arriveat Hamel airspace after 1 hour." after the captain announcement, the others than released their seat belt and started chatting about many things. But Add still got his irritated expression on.

"C'mon Add-kun, stop sulking already." Feuer let out a dry smile.

"As if I can. We are going to the Hamel resort, which is under Seraphia Inc, we are using the VIP tickets, provided by Seraphia Inc, and all of them, are related to HER!" Add suddenly shouted which made even those in the normal sector startled.

"Screw this! I'm out!" Add said and grabbed a parachute backpack and intended to jump off the plane.

"Mr Guest! Please calm down!" the hostess and the other tried to stop him.

"Calm down Add-kun. Why don't we play something for a change? We still have one hour until landing." Rena suggested.

"Oh oh, I know! Let play 'Old Maid'!" Aisha said holding out a deck of card.

"Well, okay."

"Sound nice."

"Fine with me." they all agreed. Aisha then started shuffling and handing out the card to everyone. They all took their cards and stared at their deck intently. After all the matching pairs got discarded, the game begins. The first to go was Aisha as the dealer. She offered her deck to Rena who sat next to her.

_"Hehehe, I got lots of training about facial expression. It's your loss for going against me Rena-senpai." _Aisha smirked to herself as Rena felt a slight shiver. But her confidence soon disappeared when her eyes caught the sign of Rena bosoms. Her intended poker face changed to a emotional expression. Rena was a bit bewildered as why Aisha expression changed so drastically in mere second but proceeded to choose a card. Then the turn proceeded to Alisa.

Alisa tried to look for a hint on Rena face, but all she got was her usual smile. But Alisa wasn't too good with hiding her emotion, so after finding out the card she chose didn't match anyon her deck, her face turned complete pale. But she quickly recovered as it was Feuer turn. As Feuer was wondering which card to take, he noticed that Alisa expression changed as his finger moved.

_"Too predictable!"_

_"She is just too predictable!" _

_"S-so cute." _the other thought but Feuer kinda enjoying this kind of situation. So after choosing the card that brightened up her face the most, he proceeded to Elesis. Feuer knew how to handle with his expression while Elesis just got her poker face on all the time. The two stared at each other without even moving their eyebrowns.

_"Battle of the poker faces?" _the other thought. Even after receiving the card from Feuer, Elesis expression didn't change one bit. Then Elesis proceeded to Add. Add stared at her face intently trying to exploit even the smallest bit of facial change. But Elesis misunderstood his intention and blushed.

"Ah~, n-no, Add-kun, don't look at me like that. If you do, I-I-I will~" Elesis let out a seductive moan while Add did nothing but staring at her. Because of this, Add just quickly took a card and proceeded to Ara while the other girls were whispering something and Feuer gave him a catlike smirk.

_"Don't give me that look."_

_"Oh c'mon, just admit that you secretly like it."_

_"No friggin way in hell."_

_"Just call me when you need a room."_

_"Shut up you idiot!"_

Without looking at each other, they exchanged word through telepathy, even thought they didn't have such ability. Add then proceeded to Ara. Like he Feuer, he knew how to put on a poker face. Ara wanted to choose this one card, but withdrew and changed to the other card on Add's deck. She was so conflicting with her own decision. She got confused, then her head overloaded and exploded. Seeing her like this, Add sighed decided to let her take a good card. With an eye movement, he signaled for her to take the one in the middle. But Ara misunderstoodand thought he signalled her not to choose the one in the middle. So she picked the one on the side and regretted it immediately.

_"You are so mean Add-kun!" _she said to him through her teary eyes.

_"I told you to take the one in the middle!" _Add glared back at her. Just like that the game went on. In the end, somehow Add was the one with the joker.

_"Add-kun, did you intend to lose since the beginning to help me?" _Ara looked at him with sparkling eyes.

_"There is no such thing. You are either out of my league or just too damn lucky." _Add glared back.

"We will reach Hamel airspace shortly. Please return to your seat and fasten your seatbelt. Thank you for using our COBO airline. Please have a nice trip." the captain spoke into the radio as everyone returned to their seat. They looked outside of the window, below was the azure dazzling sea and on the horizon, they can see land. City of water, Hamel.

The plane landed at Hamel airport as they got off with their luggage. Buildings and many structures made of white stone, water flowed and stretched through out the city into many rivers, tourisms can visit the entire city on boat. Hamel is the perfect spot for a relaxing vacation.

"So where is our resort?" Rena asked as Feuer opened the map. Then a man in black butler suit approached them.

"Excuse me, are you Mr Feuer?" he asked.

"Y,yes I am."

"Can you please show me your ticket?" Feuer then showed him his ticket. The man then nodded with a smile.

"Please come this way." he led them out of the airport to a white limousine that was waiting for them.

"We will take you to the resort. Please hop on."

_"You went way overboard, Nasadia-san." _Feuer thought to himself. The outside of the limousine was one thing, when they got on, the inside was another story. They sat down on the comfortable chair and couldn't help but gaped in awe. As the car hit the road, everyone peeked out of the window to enjoy the view of Hamel. The white stone structures, the small boats moving slowly with the flow of the river. After a while, their destination was within sight.

The largest structure made from white stone that they have ever seen, residing next to the beach, with golden sand and azure dazzling water. This is a scene that only exists in heaven. As the car stopped in front of the resort, Nasadia was waiting for them.

"Long time no see everyone!" she greeted cheerfully. Everyone then greeted back except Add.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"No, I don't have work today." she replied.

"Actually, Nasadia-sama, in 5 more minutes you are suppose to have a meeting with another company." her assistance who was standing next to her said.

"Tee hee!" she titled her head to a side, acting innocent.

"Don't 'tee hee' me!"

"Let just forget the trivial stuff and enjoy yourself." with a hand gesture, she told her assistance to postpone the meeting then hassled the group inside.

As expected of Elrios 6 stars resort, everything inside was shining, clean, tidy and gave off a completely different vibe, like a totally different world from the outside. They looked around like a bunch of kids at the theme park while following Nasadia.

"This place was originally the Seraphia family private vacation villa. Later, my father and also the previous manager of Seraphia Inc, Nasodis Seraphia turned it into a resort as he also want other to be able to enjoy the scenery here." Nasadia explained the background of the resort briefly.

"Look! That fountain looks just like Nasadia-san!" Aisha pointed as everyone looked at the location where her finger was pointing. The fountain in the main hall had a white stone statue of Nasadia standing on top while holding a vase with water pouring out from it.

"That would be my mother, Electra Seraphia idea. Her love for me is a little bit over the border." she said with a sigh.

_"Like you're the one to talk." _Add thought to himself. After a while of walking, they arrived at their room in the VIP area.

"Since there are more girls than boy, their room will be bigger. Well, enjoy your stay!" she said and ran off. Then they entered their COBO ticket into the scanner on the door. The scanner received the signal of the chip inside the ticket then opened the door for them.

Add and Feuer room was a room for two, but considering the size, they could fit four people in it. Add left his luggage on the side of the bed then threw himself on. Feuer moved toward the window and pulled the curtain open. The scenery appeared before them was out of this world. The golden sand shore, with the sea waves gently tapping on it.

"The view is...good. But doesn't mean I have approve of all this yet." Add said then started changing his clothes.

"Right right." Feuer gave a dry smile then also started changing his clothes as they promised to meet at the beach.

"Wooaaaah!" Alisa and Ara was astonished when they opened the door to the balcony. No, all of them was astonished except for Aisha who was busy drilling a hole on the wall to peep on Add.

"Such alluring scenery." Rena praised. She is of the elf race that live in the forest with many beautiful sights, yet this is the first time for her to see the beach like this.

"Well, we should be changing. The boys are waiting. You too Aisha-chan." Rena said and moved to the corner to drag Aisha away from there. About 5 minutes later, both the boys and the girls room door opened as they stepped out. Add and Feuer in their swim trunk and a shirt on top. Feuergot his braided ponytail tied up neatly. And they both were astonished when seeing the girl.

Ara in a plain orange bikini, but because it is plain that it highlighted her curvaceous body. Elesis wore a similar bikini in black color and a white T-shirt on top. Alisa donning a black one piece, with a white lily on her left side. Adorned on Rena was a lively green bikini, with flower pattern and a blanket around her waist. Then Aisha, with a purple two pieces with frill adornment on the top and bottom piece. But what stand out most was...the purple life ring.

"..." they were stunned when looking at her life ring.

"What? Don't judge me just because I'm a second year high schooler and still need a life ring!" she said and ended with a 'Hmph'.

"Let just get down to the beach."

"Oh, before that." Rena spoke as Add and Feuer turned around.

"Would you boys kindly carry these things with you?" she pointed her thumb at the mountain of stuff behind her. A basket, the umbrella and many other things.

"Thank you. You guys are such gentlement." with a mischievous voice, Rena pushed the girls away and left Ad and Feuer behind without hearing their agree.

"Are you for real?" Add said gritting his teeth tightly.

"Race to the beach?" but while he was doing so, Feuer picked up half of the luggage and with a declaration for a race, he ran ahead first. Add stood dumbfound for a moment then also picked up the rest of the luggage.

"If it's a race you want, I'll give you one!"

Just in 3 minutes, Add already caught up to Feuer. Feuer then also sped up to match Add pace. And before long, they already passed the girls that went ahead of them.

At the beach, Solace casted his light on everything. The azure sea as far as the eyes can see, the sight of people in their swumsuit.

"It was...a draw..."

"In your dream...I was definitely winning..."

And the sight of two panting idiots. After arriving at the beach, they threw down the luggages and dropped on their knees, huffing for air.

"Thank you for carrying the stuff." then came Rena with the same mischievous voice from earlier. Then they stared setting up the umbrella and spreading the blanket. All the people around couldn't help but had theri gaze on them. Some even stupid enough to approach and hit on them.

"You sure got some nice ladies with you there."

"You are really cute! Wanna hang out with us?"

"It's not fair hogging all the hotties with you."A group of 3 men approached them. By the look of them, they seemed to came from wealthy family. Well, almost everyone at this resort are from some sort of wealthy family. But these thugs didn't seem like they got proper education.

"Hoho, you even have an elf and a fairy with you." then they averted their dirty gaze on Rena and Alisa.

"We will be borrowing these two ladies. The rest are your. Sound goo-" one of them said and grabbed Alisa hand. And this is why they are stupid.

"My my, I think I just caught a molester. Anyone got a phone contact the police please?" stupid enough to hit on Alisa when Feuer was here. He grabbed the wrist of the one on the right and twisted his arm, nearly broke it, making him groaned loudly. Feeling that his wrist won't hold on for longer, Feuer let go and threw him back with the other two.

"You bastard! You are hurting the heir of the Shadowmaster family?" the one on the left shouted and charged forward. With a swift movement, Add moved to his side and raised his knee. He got hit in his abdominal and fell on the ground.

"Peasant, noble, whatever I don't care. You are all the same when your live is on the line." the last one, seeing that both of his lackies are useless, also charged forward while pulling out a knife.

_"Tch, you thugs are just rotten to the core. A knife?" _Add clicked his tongue and prepared for a counter attack. But,

"You're in the way, scum." another male with dark purple hair suddenly appeared and stopped the knife with bare hand. The attacker tried to pull the knife out but to no avail. It just won't budge even one bit.

"Get outta my way." the male glared a sharp gaze at the attacker and tightened tightened his grip on the knife then threw it along with its owner away. The attacker landed on the ground with a loud thud, the other two then came to his side and took him away. The male then left without saying another word. Blood was dripping down on the sand from the cut in his plm. But after a few steps, blood stopped dripping down and the wound closed completely.

_"The white haired one...Hahaha, finally, I found an interesting toy." _after taking a last glance over his shoulder at Add, the male left with an evil grin on his face. The rest of the group was bewildered at the sudden appearance and disappearance of the mysterious male. But among them, Rena was shivering.

_"For a moment, I sensed bloodlust from him." _Rena thought to herself, then quickly shook the thought away. They're at the beach now. So only thing to do is play and enjoy. Everyone got their own way of playing at the beach while Add just sat under the umbrella, doing nothing.

"Haizzz..." he let out a sigh then grabbed the bottle of water nearby and placed it on his mouth.

"Add-kun~" then he heard Rena calling him and turned to her.

"Can you put some sunscreen on for me?" she was lying down while untying her top piece of her bikini, with a bottle of sunscreen next to her. Add spat all the water in his mouth out and coughed several times.

"N...never...in a million years..." he said.

"Oh, Add-kun is still a boy after all. Is my grown up body too much for you to handle?" she teased him. Add then snapped as he turned around almost immediately and poured the sunscreen onto his hands.

"So, where should I start groping on your body first?" he asked with an innocent yet menacing smile.

"W-wait, you're serious?" Rena knew that she set foot on a landmine, and it didn't seem she could pull her feet out anytime soon.

"You asked for it, right?" Add then moved closer with his hands wet with sunscreen. Rena tried to stop him but he was stronger than her in physical strength. Finally, Add broke through Rena defense and started his torture on her. He tickled her side which made her laugh non stop. But as he moved his hand, Rena soft and smooth skin excited the sense on his fingertip. Feared that if he continue any longer, he might lose control. So he decided to stop before the point of no return. And it seemed Rena got her lesson as she was panting while twitching slightly.

"Add-kun...are so mean..."

Meanwhile, Feuer and Alisa was taking a tour around the coral reef. The sea of Hamel was beautiful, yet the underwater sight was even much more breath taking. The coral reef was colorful, like a piece of rainbow fell down into the sea and crystalized. Wide variety of fishes made the coral reef their home, like an undersea colony. It was so beautiful that even the Iz and Laguz are always sighted near the coral reef. When they saw Feuer and Alisa, they waved at them. They waved back as a group of Iz and Laguz approached them.

The coral reef got lots of visitor, but they are always inside submarine or something like that. Seeing a human visiting them without machine was rare, seeing a fairy to pay them a visit is even rarer. It seemed they wanted to show the two around the coral reef. But Feuer and Alisa was going low on oxygen,so he made some hand gesture to tell the Iz and Lagux that they need to resurface.

The Iz and Laguz afraid that their rare guests might leave, they refused to let go. Feuer was reaching his last bit of air supply, seeing that one of the Laguz in the group held his face to face her, and gave him a kiss. Alisa face immediately turned red and heated up the water around her while flapping her hands uncontrollably. Then she also ran out of air supply. Then, one of the Iz did the same to her like what Laguz did to Feuer, a kiss.

Alisa head was spinningfrom taking in too many shocking events at once and from lack of oxygen. But after the Iz released her, she was able to breathe and speak even underwater.

"Everyone was helping us?" she asked as all the Iz and Laguz smiled at her.

"S-sorry for misunderstanding...and thank you." she said with a small bow. The Iz and Laguz then signalled for them to follow. Before leaving, Alisa glanced at Feuer and said.

"T-this doesn't count as our first kiss, got it? W-w-we will do this later in near future." she said and got flustered by her own word as she quickly turned her face away and swam after the Laguz and Iz. Feuer was a bewildered for a bit hten also swam after.

_"Alisa-san is so bold." _he thought to himself.

The Laguz and Iz showed them alot of interesting sights. But the most impressive one should be the remnant of an underwater city, Sunken Resiam.

"Magnificent." said Feuer.

Sunken Resiam, the remnant of what used to be a city. Along with the Resiam Outskirt, Sunken Resiam is on of Hamel many tourist attraction spots. While Resiam Outskirt remained on the surface despite being a ruin, Sunken Resiam was brought down to the sea floor. Now it is home of any big sea creatures, like Ancient Crab, Merman, Deep Sea Fish.

"Feuer-kun, look!" Alisa then pointed at one of the building. Even thought all of the structures here at Sunken Resiam are in bad condition and can collapse at anytime, the building that they were looking at got a big hole on it, which is not something that was done by nature. But when they got to a higher position to have a wider view, not only one, but many buildings were in the same state.

The sea can be beautiful, and scary at the same time. And Sunken Resiam is the house of Ancient Crab, Merman, Deep Sea Fish, and...

"Coral Sea Serpent." the Iz and Laguz whispered while hiding behind Feuer and Alisa.

"Coral Sea Serpent is friendly. He protects the coral reef from bad fishermen."

"But something got on him recently."

"He has been scary ever since."

Was what they said.

"Feuer-kun..." Alisa looked to Feuer.

"Coral Sea Serpent is one of the oldest specie of sea creature. They can grow up to 54 meters in length and weigth up to 3 tons. Their terrifying appearance is only to scare their enemy away, but they are a peaceful specie. They produce offspring around this time of the year. And they usually make their nest around the coral reef. So something must be disturbing them." Feuer said then looked at the Iz and Laguz with teary eyes and to the coral reef.

"Your request has been accepted by the 'Cadence'." Feuer said with a smile. Alisa then explained that they agreed to help. The Iz and Laguz rejoiced cheerfully.

"Anyway, we need to discuss with the other." then the two swam back to shore. While they were half way back, they saw Aisha was drowning in the distance. They quickly swam forward and got her back to the surface in time.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying...to swim...without...life ring..." Aisha muttered while spitting out all the sea water she drank. They dragged her back to the shore and caled the other back for a meeting.

"I ref-"

"I agree. We must help them!"

"We cannot leave it like this after knowing the story."

"Count me in!"

Add was about to refuse, but all the girls already made up their mind that they will help the Laguz and Iz. Add then dragged Feuer to a corner to have a private conversation.

"Really? Do you really have to bring more trouble?" Add said nearly stranggled Feuer with his grip. While in Aisha vision, they were having a *beep* boy covnersation, and shewas drooling with her camera in hand.

"Well, we can't just leave thing at it is, right?"

"It's YOU who can't leave thing as it is, not ME!"

"But the majority already casted their vote." Feuer said then showed Add a paper with the score of 6-0 for agree versus complain but still have to agree.

"What the heck is this kind of voting?" he asked. Knowing that he is already one leg in and cannot pulled out safely, Add gritted his teeth then tore the paper in Feuer hand.

"You owe me big time for this!" Add said but Feuer didn't seem to pay concern.

"Okay, we got Add-kun approval."

"Are you even listening?"

And so, the group packed their stuff and returned early to prepare for their mission.

"First, we need to know why the Coral Sea Serpent went mad." they gathered in Add and Feuer room.

"We will begin by gathering some info from around. Any abnormality, even the smallest one will help."

"Once we know the cause, we will proceed by eliminating the source. The sea here is pretty big and some places might have strong current, so we will need another mean for tracking and eliminating the source."

"But even when we eliminated the source, there is no guarantee the Coral Sea Serpent will calm down right away. The possibility of a confrontation is high."

"So thirdly, we need a base, where we can have a good view of the incoming battle." after comingup with the basic things and divided the group into 3, each with their own role. They split out to carry on their role.

Rena, Ara, Elesis and Aisha are on the intelligence team. They visited the house of the fishermen around Elime's Wave and Stricken City, as these two places have many of the oldest fisherman village in Hamel. If you need to know something about the sea of Hamel, they are the one to ask. And both Stricken City and Elime's Wave are closest to Sunken Resiam, so if anything is off, they will know first hand. With Rena and Ara sociability, it isn't hard to find some info. And if they have any ulterior motive, Rena got it handled with her kicks.

Feuer and Alisa are the recon team. With the bike they hired, they moved from place to place searching for a place to set up their base. Somewhere tat is far yet still close enough to Sunken Resiam to observe everything going on. The terrain of Resiam Outskirt is not strong enough for the standard of the base, other places are too far away. Then, they found one candidate.

"This place looks good." they stopped at the Ancient Waterway. A place that controls the water flow of the city and is also connected to the Heart of Ancient Wayterway. Ancient Waterway used to be one of Hamel biggest port, and also an essential one. A giant light house was set up to guide ships at night and acts as compass under heavy storm. Back then, the Heart of Ancient Waterway is the start of Hamel river system.

From here, one could go to anywhere in Hamel on boat. This place is also the heart of the ancient water flow control system. If one can grasp hold of the control of this place, meaning one has nearly the entire Hamel in their paw. Due to it strategic characteristic, during the 'Elrios War' that took place thousand years ago, this place used to be the battlefield of many fiercing battles.

But after too many battles, the Heart of Ancient Waterway suffered critical damage. And the ancient water control system is no longer in one piece. After the wall, a new water control system was built at the heart of the city. Now both of these places serve little purpose. How irony.

Feuer and Alisa got off from their bike and investigated the area. Seemed like only Heart of Ancient Waterway suffered critical damage. The Ancient Waterway, beside a few craters from the cannonball, everything else is still in one piece. Then they investigated the giant lighthouse. It was big for the standard of a lighthouse, and was built from the toughest white stone. So even after hundred of years, it remained standing, mighty and brimming with pride.

Feuer went to check the basement while Alisa went to the top. The basement was old and full of spider web. Feuer lit a small flame and proceeded further in. Since the control of the lighthouse was placed deep underground, it's still functional. Feuer checked the control panel for a bit, but since the system was too old that he got no clue on how to get it to work.

"Maybe the worker left the note on the upper floor." he left the basement and took the staircase to the upper floor. He reached a room when he was halfway to the top. Turning the knuckle on the door made a eerie creaking sound, and inside was all dusty.

"L-let see, lighthouse control system manual...manual...manual...this one?" he picked one of the book from the bookshelves. The cover was all dusty but the letters were still readable. He scanned through some pages, and it seemed that the one he picked was wrong. But he didn't put it back because...

"This is 'Preparing Retreat!', first chapter of the Hamel arc in Elrios Story! Only the prologue was issued back then. Wait, they even have Sander arc, the mysterious volume that many said doesn't exist? They even got the Lanox arc!"

He strayed from his original goal. The lighthouse was barely touched after the war, so all of it relics remained with it. And for a knowledge freak like him, this place is like a a treasure chest to the pirate. Yargh!

About 10 minutes later, he finally came out with the manual. Then he went to the top to check on Alisa. At the top, Alisa was shooting her gaze to the horizon. Azure water as fas as the eyes can see. And when looking from a high place, the view was even better. She got caught in the beautiful scenery that she didn't notice Feuer until he came next to her. Feuer wrapped his hand around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him and gently stroking her hair. Alisa then rested her head on his shoulder while enjoying the view.

Lastly, Add is the preparation team. Well, he is on his own thought. The resort even got it own plaza, which has nearly everything. With the COBO ticket, Add got no worry about the expense. He was strolling through the machinery sector, with 2 carts full of mechanical parts behind him. But he didn't stop there. He strolled through a few more sectors and went he got to the counter, it was 3 carts full.

"Thank you for shopping."

Add walked out of the plaza with all the things he bought behind him carried by a drone just like the one they saw back at the summer festival, just bigger and no camera lens.

"Well, done with the material now just wait for the other to- speak of the devil." he picked up his phone when it vibrated.

"Add-kun, we found a place for the base. Rena-senpai group just finished gathering intel and are rendezvous with us. I'll send you the location." after the call ended, Add received the location of their 'base'.

"A bit far from here. But renting a bike is just bothersome."

Back at the lighthouse at Ancient Waterway, Rena group just arrived but when they looked around, Feuer and Alisa was nowhere to be found.

"Now where did those two go?"

"Could it be, they took the chance when no one was around to do some indecent thing together?" Aisha brought up the topic, but was quickly shot back down by other.

"Feuer-kun? No way. And Alisa-chan isn't that bold." then they saw Feuer and Alisa came out of the lighthouse. And it seemed they were in a hurry.

"Hit the dirt!" Feuer shouted as they quickly laid down on the ground, the other didn't understand why quickly complied. Just as they laid down,a big explosion occured as lots of black smoke came out of the lighthouse.

"What...just happened?" Aisha asked when the smoke died down.

"We tried to reactivate the light house control system. Didn't expect this thought." Feuer coughed up all the smoke he accidentally inhaled.

"Why would you do that?"

"We might need it later on." as they were cleaning themselves from all the dirt and unidentified black stuff, Add arrived.

"So this is the base. Not bad, I must say." on top of the carrier drone. The drone droppd the giant package that it was carrying as Add got off.

"Well then, let get to work." he cracked his fingers. Althought he hates it when other just decide thing on their own, but no one beats him in the love and passion of in working with machine.

Meanwhile, back at the beach of the resort, the male with dark purple hair from earlier was returning with his surfing board. He dropped the board and grabbed a towel to dry his hair. Then his phone vibrated as someone was calling.

"Talk." he said bluntly. The other side then also started.

"We will proceed with the plan tomorrow night, at 2000 sharp. My men will infiltrate Temple of Frozen Water and cause a big commotion while you will take that chance to infiltrate Hall of Wat-"

"Infiltrate, get the data, then blow eveything up. For El sake, yapping already." he cut off with a rude tone.

"But are you sure I will meet some one strong?" he asked.

"Helputt Seiker, the National Guard General will definitely be guarding the Hall of Water. And yes, he is strong. He is the White Colossus of Hamel after all."

"That is all I need to know." he said.

"You are allow to take him down, but make sure to get out before the entire National Guard come in. Remember that, Burai Kudoku." the other side said. Burai then hung off the phone.

"Tomorrow night gonna be fun." he let out a hysterical laugh as a black shadow appeared behind him. All the birds on the trees nearby then quickly fled like when they sensed a predator was coming.

Night falls, the group then returned to the resort, completely exhausted. Everyone returned to their room, and after the bath, the meal was delivered to their room by a waite-

"Good evenin girls!" by Nasadia. Seriously, don't you have anything to do?

"I'm sure you all are hungry. So today I made all of the dishes by myself. Eat to your heart content~" the food was truly delicious. All of them were Hamel special dishes, made from ingredients from the sea. After a day when you came home all tired, there is nothing better than taking a bath and having a big meals.

"So, did you girls have fun today?"

"Of course! The beach was beautiful, and the Iz and Laguz were really friendly."

"So you guys met with the Iz and Laguz huh? They used to come and play wth me all day long when I was a kid. But...since this resort was built, they don't come over anymore. They hate crowded place and some of the guest tried to abduct them once." Nasadia said with a bitter tone and accidentally snapped the folk in her hand.

"Anyway, how did you guys meet?" she asked. They agreed with each otherthat they won't tell a single thing to anyone else, especially Nasadia. It will definitely make her worry. Who knows, she might even call the National Guard to turn Hamel up side down to look for them.

"When me and Feuer-kun was visiting the coral reef, they offered to show us around. And..." Alisa said as her face heated up when reminiscencing about when the Laguz gave Feuer a kiss, even thought it was only to cast a spell to help him talk and breathe under water. But what make her face heated up most was her own word after that. Then the girl intuition kicks in as all of the girls, including Nasadia closed in.

"And?"

"I-I-I...I-I...I accidentally tell him that the spell the Laguz and Iz did with a kiss does not count as first kiss and we will have our first kiss later in near future!" being pressured, she blurted out everything and hid her face behind a pillow. If embarrassment could be converted into energy, she would produce enough energy for this whole resort by now.

"A-Alisa-san, that is so bold" said Elesis and Ara.

"Oh, my Alisa has grown so much." Rena smiled with tears while patting Alisa back. Alisa hid her face even deeper into the pillow.

"Wait, we know the lady feeling, but what about the man himself?" then Aisha brought up the topic, and unlike first time, they all also wanted to know how the other feeling.

"Only one way to find out. Ask the man himself!"

"Ah wait!" when they all stood up and about to leave, Rena called after.

"Earlier on the beach, Add-kun...Add-kun..." then talked with a shaking tone and teary eyes.

"He...when I wasn't paying attention, he...he stole my purity..." upon hearing that, the girls left the room even faster. When all of them had left the room, Rena then wiped the tears away and made a mischievous smile.

The room next door, the boys room. They inserted the ticket as the door opened. Add and Feuer was still typing the holographic keyboard, not knowing what kind of trouble was coming.

"You guys need something?" Feuer noticed the girls were coming in and asked. Ara and Elesis then came toward Add as each of them gave him a slap across the face.

"Add-kun, I can't believe you're that kind of a person!"

"Add-kun...pervert..."

"So, Feuer-kun, will you share with us your feeling?"

"W-w-what?" and Feuer was being quiestioned by Aisha and Nasadia. So after a while, not much came from Feuer as he too was shocked to say anything, and Add got his misunderstanding cleared.

"But these marks won't disappear anytime soon you know." Add said with irritated voice as Ara and Elesis kept apologizing him.

"That so called senpai, I'll get this back on her someday."

"So, what are you boys doing?" Nasadia asked when seeing 3 Eltrion , with wires connected from them to the holographic projector and other components on the floor. The two didn't expect her to come in, so they were at a loss of word on how to explain to her about this.

"Could it be...you two are going to use these to peep on the girls?"

"Not in a million years. Look, if you are just here to tease on me then get out!" he said and chased the girls out of the room.

"Such short temper. But isn't it nice? To be young and able to express whatever you feel inside." Nasadia smiled and stood up.

"Well, it's bedtime. See you guys later." as the hand of the clock pointed at 10, Nasadia waved goodbye then left. The girls then also returned to their room. They all quickly fell asleep, and then the whole resort became quiet. Only the sound of the gentle sea waves tapping on the shore, and the light of the moon shone down through the window. Far off the shore, at Sunken Resiam, an eerie shadow was resurfacing, then disappeared into the dark water again. And it was huge.

At the Hall of Water, inside the briefing room. A soldier entered as the door slid aside. At the big table in the middle was a man with tall and muscular build. His figure was one thing, by merely standing before him you could feel the aura of one that has been through many battles, maybe even went through hell and returned. The National Guard General, Hamel White Colossus, Helputt Seiker.

"Sir." the soldier saluted. Helputt then did the same.

"Report." he ordered.

"Three days ago, our research facility from TFW-01 to TFW-06 was breached. The culprit was a group of 6. One of them is currently under our custody, but he was a Nasod. Series number Type-W9. A month ago, 6 of them were stolen from the Nasod Foundry in Altera. The others didn't even flinch when the bullets hit them so they must also be Nasod." the soldier flipped to the next page of the report then continued.

"We decrypted the memory core on the one we caught. There was a conversation between them and the one pulling the strings. It seems they need something from us and the thing wasn't in any of the research facility from TFW-01 to TFW-06. According to the message we decrypted, there will be another raid tomorrow night, at main research facility TFW-00."

"Gather the troops. Increase security around research facility TFW-00 from level C to level A. Replace the normal ammunation with EMP shells. If they are Nasod, you are allowed to use heavy weaponry." Helputt gave the order as the soldier saluted and left the briefing room. Rod Ross who was on the other side of the table let out a sigh with a small smile.

"You're impressive as always."

"Breaching once and escaped. I'll show them this isn't a place that they can just come in and out as they pleased." Helputt took the white hat on his head off then reached into his pocket. He held the picture of his and his son, Chung in his hand.

"You haven't seen your son for quite sometime right?"

"It's been 3 years already. After this operation is done, I'll take sometime off."

"Take your time, you deserve it. When I visited the school few weeks earlier, he was doing really fine."

"That's good to hear." Helputt said and put the picture back into his chest pocket.

_"But just what is this uneasy feeling I'm having?" _

* * *

The next morning, the sun was rising from behind the horizon. On the empty beach was Ara jogging along the shore. As expected of someone from a family line of martial artist. The cold night atmosphere was slowly disappeared as Solace rose up from his sleep and shone his light. But someone got up even sooner than her. Add was jogging a few meters ahead of her.

"Morning Add-kun." Ara quickened her pace to match with Add.

"Oh, morning." Add replied.

"I thought I was the earliest, but you are ven earlier."

"I only do jogging when I fee like it. I hate waking up early in the morning." the two then kept jogging for a bit more until Add turned to Ara.

"Thank you."

"Heh?"

"I know you were worried because how I was being a sulking sack the other day, same as Feuer. Even thought it was really annoying with 'her' here, it was fun." Ara was bit surprised, then smiled back at Add.

"You're welcome." her smile was cheerful and bright, just like the sun. And every sun come with a moon.

"Morning." Elesis suddenly appeared. But her face was a bit gloomy, mixed with a bit of murderous intention, and jealousy.

"Ah, morning Elesis-chan."

"Morning." Elesis replied, puffing her fastened her pace while looking back at Ara.

"You want to race, Elesis-chan? Okay, I won't lose!" Ara caught her gaze and knew what she meant. She then also fastened her pace and matched with Elesis. They ran and left Add behind, but not for long. Shortly after, Add matched with the two and ran pass them. He had electricity injected though.

"Better catch up!"

"Add-kun, that's cheating!" Ara shouted. Elesis then kicked the ground to reach higher speed. Seeing the competition got taken to a new level, Ara then leapt into the air and ran in midair as if she was flying.

"It sure is good to be young." Rena smiled when watching from the balcony.

"Senpai, the bath is free." Alisa who just came out of the bathroom called for rena. Rena turned around then smirked mischievously.

"S-senpai?" Alisa asked. She just came out of the bath and was drying her hair with a towel while wearing a yukata. The yukata with her slightly wet body from the bath made her looks even more seductive.

"My, aren't you look hot in this kind of attire?" she said and took a picture with her phone.

"Maybe I should send this to Feuer-kun." she as Alisa dropped the towel and desperately trying to stop her. The two fell on the bed while still struggling for the phone. Then Aisha walked in. Rena was at the bottom while Alisa was on top. Alisa knee was between Rena legs and Rena was grabbing the chest of Alisa's yukata.

"I wish you two happiness for eternity." she said and closed the door. Then peeped in again to take some picture and left for real. Both Rena and Alisa was stunned, then Alisa got back to her sense first and snatched the phone away from Rena hand.

"Well, I'm off to bath." Rena said leisurely as if everything just now never happened.

"Senpai...doing something like this..." Alisa said while holding the phone in her hand with her heart racing. She looked at the picture that Rena just took and was about to hit the delete button, but stopped.

"I-I'll just send this one over to my phone." she sent the picture to her phone and deleted the one in Rena's phone, not knowing that Rena was smirking behind her. After Rena finished her bath, Ara and Elesis returned from their morning exercise. As Rena was drying her hair, the phone on the table rang.

"Hello? Hm...sound wonderful. Okay." then she hung up.

"It seems the restaurant downstair has lots of sweet made by famous chef." Feuer just called and suggesting having breakfast at the restaurant downstair. Although the first to suggest the idea was Add. All of them had finished their morning bath and changed into their casual clothes. Leaving their room, they headed downstair. Other guests also justwoke up from their sleep as the resort started getting livelier

"Welcome to Mare Casetta." the waiter and waitress at the door greeted. They entered the restaurant and looked for a table. and since ti was still pretty early, lots of table were still empty so they got to choose any table they want. Finally, they setled down at a table in the veranda. A waiter and waitress then proceeded to take their order.

"One Spirit Tea with whipped cream."

"I'll have Magic Herbal Pudding."

"Strawberry El Fire short cake please."

"Um, one small size Sunny Sundae."

"One Desert White Oasis Soda."

"One Mist Land Kiwi ice cream."

"Chocolate Babel Tower."

Receiving all the orders, the waiter and waitress bowed then left to deliver it to the chef.

"So, you guys got any particular plan for today?" Rena asked while they waited for their order.

"True, we still have lots of time til our plan." Feuer replied.

"Nothing in partcular. And I don't feel like swimming again." Ara said resting her chin on her palm.

"Since we already came here, how about taking a tour around the city?" she suggested. As they talked, the waiter and waitress from earlier came with a silver cart.

"Thank you for the wait. Here are your orders." they placed the order on the table respectively. After everyone got their order, they started digging in. Every single of them then got a satisfied expression on their face.

"Well then, let go over the plan one more time."

"Tonight, at 9 we will start the mission. Add-kun will control 3 Eltrion to track and destroy whatever the source that caused Coral Sea Serpent to go berserk. The Eltrion Mk I range of signal is only within the radius of 2 kilometers, group 1 will follow the Eltrions to drop the signal transmitter and group B is the back up in case something happen. If the Coral Sea Serpent see us, we will return to the shore quickly to proceed with plan B." that was their plan. If they can eliminate the source of trouble, everything will return to normal. The plan B, is for when situation turns dire, so if possible, they don't want to use it at all.

"Well, it's settled. We will take a tour around the city." they finished their sweets and stood up. Once they left the Mare Casetta, Feuer grabbed a few tour guides at the reception desk.

"Now, where to go first?"

"Let me check...There is a store downtown calls 'Lucy's Wonderland'. It's an accessories shop, and the owner used to travel all over Elrios to collect many type of accessories." so their first destination is 'Lucy's Wonderland'. Since the weather was great and in Hamel, the main way of transportation was by boat using the channel sytem that spreads all over the city, there wasn't much exhaust fume in the air so they decided to go on foot.

"Just walking is kinda plain. How about we play a game?" Aisha suggested.

"Start with a word, the last letter of that word will be the starting letter of the next one. But let make it more challenging with two words. I'll start first. Gust Screw!"

"Wind Wedge."

"Ejection Buster."

"Rail Stinger."

Then they played with Aisha's game while walking. The resort was built a little far away from the city, but as they talked and walked, the road seemed to become lots shorter. And before they know it, they arrived at their destination. A shop with the blue wooden sign, through the glass many type of accessories that came in all shape, size, color and design were being exhibited. They pushed the door and walked in as the small bell rang.

'Welcome welcome!" it was still early in the morning yet the store was already a bit crowded. The owner named Lucy, a girl with two peculiar braided tails behind her head. Her eyes were the color of the sea, and also as clear. Her cheerful greeting matched with her bright blue attire.

"Oh, how lucky for me to have the elf and fairy race as my customer! How about a 'Pirate Scimitar', for a thrilling adventure in the city of water, just like the old time?"

"Or would you prefer a 'Western Gunman Rifle'? Of course, both of them are fake. If not, I wouldn't be here running business at all. But you can use them to smack people if they get on your nerve!" Lucy joked and showed them around the shop. Just like the name of the shop, the inside was fascinating with accessories from all over Elrios, it was the 'Wonderland' and the customers were the 'Alice' lost in that 'Wonderland'. Then Lucy with her cheeful smile is the 'Cheshire Cat'.

They tried many type of accessories, from a Mini-me that sits on their shoulder, a Yukata Umbrella, to more spectacular things like the Dream Step that create holographic image with every step they take, and even something weird like a Dynamite Kit with its fuse burning. There was too many things to choose from, but in the end they all managed to buy something as souvenir.

"Thank you for shopping!" Lucy waved when they left the shop. Even after stepping out of the door, they still couldn't help but be astonished by what they just saw. hen they proceeded to their next spot in the tour guide book.

Horatio's Sculpture Hall. The biggest sculpture shop in Hamel. Every kind of sculpture could be found here. 'You name the material and theme, Horatio can make it!' is the slogan of the shop. Customers can take a tour around the grand hall, where all of Horatio's masterpieces gathered. When two or more customers got their eyes on the same sculpture at the same time, an auction will be held immediately. All of the sculptures were exquisitely made so an auction is held very often.

But sometime, an auction was held just because some customers got a lot more time on their hand more than they know what to do with. Leading to these customers started an auction with other customer over a sculpture simply just for the thrill, and accidentally bought them when they have no need at all.

"Woah~!" the first thing they saw after entering the shop was the grand hall. Sculptures and statues as far as eyes can see. The first gallery was Hall of Wood. The theme was mostly the nature of Hamel's land, like 'Forest of Peace' portraying the Chilling Hedgehogs playing at the river in the forest.

"Horatio...isn't he the one that slayed the Sea Serpent in the text book?" Ara asked. True, they didlearn about this name in their history class.

"That would be my great great great grandfather." a voice joined their conversation. An old man with tall build was carrying a giant wooden sculpture which is something someone at his age shouldn't be doing. His top was naked, and his ageless muscles made even a young man at his prime feel shame.

"You folks are tourist, am I right? Good to see youngster these day have interest in art and ssculpture!" he laughed loudly as he placed the wooden sculpture down on the stand.

"I'm Horatio. But to clear any confusion you may have with 'Horatio the Serpent Slayer', he is my great great great grandfather so he's Horatio the first, and I'm Horatio the fourth."

"Since long ago, my family has a tradition. The head male of the family must train intensely since young age to prepare for their coming of age ceremony. When time comes, the male must display their strength and their training effort, by slaying the most ferocious beast. The tradition persisted until my grandfather time. But I see nothing in that tradition but savages." Horatio sighed while remembering about all the poor animals that were slayed, while they haven't done anything yet.

"So as the current head of the family, I gathered many support as I could and abolished this barbaric tradition despite many objection. Gladly, it finally got prohibited with the animal protection laws."

"But if there is anything that I appreciated, then it will be these muscles!" Horatio laughed loudly again. Even louder than the last time.

"Horatio-san, I have an order for a sculpture of 'Horatio the Serpent Slayer'!" then a customer called from afar. Horatio suddenly stopped laughing ashis facial expression turned dark.

"You may want to cover your ears." he warned the group as they complied.

"For the upteenth time, I'll never make any sculpture about that horrible tradition of my family!" his shouted shook the entire grand hall. The customer must have know this since he was talking from afar with a megaphone.

"But your slogan said you can make any sculpture!"

"I even wrote it down, highlighted it in the store's rule! 'We do no accept order regarding theme of harming or killing animal'! If you have anything against that, come say it to my face and my hammer!" with that, Horatio ran off with a big hammer in his hand to pursue the customer.

"..." they were bewildered at everything that just happened, except for Add.

"Hahahahahaha! I love this old geezer!" he was laughing hard at Horatio sudden mood swing. Took them a while to continue their tour. The next gallery was the Hall of Ice. Because the temperature was below 0 degree, they all have to wear a coat distributed at the door to the gallery.

"Brr~"

"It's like winter in here!" The current temperature was -10'C, even so, the place was quite crowded with customers with their jaws shaking non stop. If the wood gallery was about the nature of land, then the ice gallery is about the beauty of the sea. The ice sculptures were made very accurate to the smallest details, which makes it hard to believe that they were made by human hand. A giant sculpture of 'Sunken Resiam' in a water tank to make it more real, or the 'Fallen Giant' portraying the fall of Noah, Hamel biggest ship that was sunk during the last battle of 'Elrios War'.

As the group was on their way strolling through the gallery, they heard some customers were arguing over a sculpture. But because their jaws were shaking on stop so they couldn't quite make out what they were arguing about.

"I c-c-c-can pay 300,000,000 ED f-f-for this sculpt-t-ture!"

"T-t-t-then I can pay 400,000,000 ED!"

Some people sure got lots of time on their hand. They strolled through the last few lines in the gallery and quickly exited the place. For the first time they were able to feel the cold of winter in the middle of summer. Finally, onto the last gallery. The Hall of Stone. if Hall of Wood and Hall of Ice revolve around the theme of nature, then Hall of Stone revolves around the theme of human activities in Hamel.

'The big catch', portraying the return of the fishermen after a successful trip. 'Under serene moon, above gentle sea', describing the people of Hamel celebrating the Festival of Water, to thank Denif the Master of Water for the divine protection of the sea and the prosperity it brings. What makes the third gallery more special was, while the other two galleries consisted of mostly giant statues with a few small sculptures, the Hall of Stone consisted of only mini size sculpture. They all were on the scale of 1:100.

The group strolled through the gallery of miniature art, it's almost as if they were the friendly giants paying a visit on their neighboring country of tiny neighbors. Even thought the size was small, the effort that was put in creating them was the opposite. And at the end of the gallery, on the giant stand was Horatio's greatest masterpiece.

'The decisive battle'

The last battle of the 'Elrios War', taking place at the Heart of Ancient Waterway. Two armies, Velder and Hamel were fighting over every ounce of land that they could get to take over the Heart of Ancient Waterway. Soldiers fighting in the faclity located deep into the ground, while on the surface, both sides were hailing down the other side with siege and arrows. The battle went on and on for 6 days and 6 nights straight. Too many blood was spilt, even when the Heart of Ancient Waterway took critical damage, beyond repair and no longer has any use, the battle went on.

In the mind of the soldiers at that time, it was blank. They no longer have any awareness of time, space, their comrades, their enemies, the strategy or order from their commander. Nothing but one, take over Heart of Ancient Waterway. A meaningless battle. The goal they seek no longer there, what they were fighting for was something that doesn't exist anymore. How irony, thousand of soldiers have fallen, for nothing.

But on the dawn of the seventh day, the battle came to an end. As the first light of the day shone onto the land spilt with blood and human bodies, the Guardian of Light descended to end the meaningless war. Clad in golden armor, with bright red fur and blazing tail resembled the flame of the sun. One of Hamel guardian, Taranvash of Light. The mighty beast marched through the battlefield, the light from it golden armor spread through the vast space.

All the soldiers after seeing the light, came back to their sense. They ceased all activities and took a look of their surrounding. Blood dyed the ground red, bodies of both their enemy and comrades piled up, and a wasteland from the result of war. At that sight, they all dropped their weapon then embraced each other, and let out a mournful cry. Like a baby that just woke up from a nightmare.

Friend or foe, it doesn't matter anymore, only the death and the living. Taranvash stood on the highest spot of the Heart of Ancient Waterway, looking down on the crying soldiers. Then with a loud howl, it disappeared withou warning, just like when it appeared. The following day, both armies worked on retrieving the corpse. The count of death reached 72,000, a price to much for nothing but loss. Velder army then returned to their country across the sea while Hamel returned to repair their city. Shortly after, the peace treaty was signed by both countries. Thus, begin the age of trading between Velder and Hamel.

Standing in front of the embodiment of history, the group spared one minute to mourn for the death, then bowed solemnly and left the gallery.

The rest of the day, they visited many other interesting places, but instead of walking, they traveled by boat. The sight of the city looking from a boat that slowly flowed with the water was definitely tranquil.

Night falls, they returned to the resort, took the bath have dinner like usual. But when the entire resort was fast asleep, they proceeded with their first step of the plan.

Step one: Escape.

They opened the door to the balcony and glanced down. From their current place to the ground, around 15 meters.

"Not really high, but just to make sure." Add said the nodded with Feuer. They took out a rope from inside the closet and tied it into the handrail and quickly slid down. Taking a look at the surrounding, clear. Add then grabbed a small rock and threw it onto the girl balcony. That was their cue. One end of a rope was thrown over the balcony. But almost at the same time as the rope was thrown, Ara leapt down from the balcony and while swiftly using the wall as stepping point, she landed on the ground safely.

"..."

"Is something the matter?" she asked with an innocent look.

"Nevermind." Add said then the others started sliding down. Aisha, Elesis, Alisa then Rena. While Alisa was only 5 until the ground, Rena smirked mischievously then flicked her finger. A strong gust of wind then picked Alisa up, away from her rope, after descending to about 3 meters above ground, the wind dropped her.

"Kyaaa!" she screamed as Feuer quickly reacted to it. He jumped up and caught her.

"Senpai! That was really dangerous!" Alisa shouted.

"I got a failsafe just in case, Alisa-chan. But shouldn't you thank me for giving you a chance to be carried like a princess in Feuer-kun arms?" she asked and pointed at Alisa who was lying in Feuer arms like a princess in the arms of her white knight. Alisa face heated up as she quickly got off from Feuer and apologized. She then went to Rena to rebuke her. Feuer was intermally ting Rena though.

_"Do you people even aware that we are on a stealthy mission?" _Add sighed.

Step two: Moving.

They hid several bikes that they rented at a nearby spot. With the bike, they moved to the 'base'. The light house at Ancient Waterway. A tent was set near the light house. Add got off from his bike and went into the tent while the other followed a small road down to another secret spot where two motor boats and one jet ski were hidden.

"This is Cadence Commander, report." they heard Add voice when they put the communicator on their ear.

"This is Cadence 1, ready." Feuer, Alisa and Rena was on team A.

"This is Cadence 2, ready." Ara, Elesis and Aisha on team B. Both team got onto their motor boat and replied. Back at the 'base', in front of Add was three holographic screens, displaying different type of data. And one of them was displaying everything that got recorded by the cameras attached on the 3 Eltrions.

"Let get this show on the road!"

Step three: Operation start.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side toward themountain area, another battle was about to take place. The headlights lighting up the night sky, extremely tight security that even an ant will have diffcult in trying to sneak in, even the tanks were mobilized.

"Keep your eyes peel! Our enemies are not human so fire at will if you spot them!" the Major General, Sig reminded his men. After the raid on the research facility 4 days ago, they were ordered to tighten the security on the main research facility, TFW-00. Then just as they predicted, the assailants came.

9 small figures with 3 big ones that seemed to be their commander, with red and black steel armor, holding a sword in one hand while the other was an enhanced arm providing heavy fire power. Those were the Crow Riders and Crow Rider Prototype.

"Open fire!" Sig gave his order. The soldiers then pulled the trigger on their gun as the space was filled with gunfire and bullets. But it seemed the EMP shells were useless as the Crow Riders took minimal damage and didn't show any sign of slowing down.

"Switch to High Explosive shells!" Sig shouted as they switched their ammunation to High Explosive. Being hit by High Explosive shells, the Crow Riders started taking damage. Their system registered that as they gave order to retaliate.

"Rush Assault." the small ones rushed forward at high speed, deflecting all the bullets came their way. They caused a disturbance in the National Guard formation for their commander to close in.

"Battalion 1, take aim!" Sig shouted as 3 tanks on the left turned to take aim at the big ones.

"Fire!" as he ordered, a a volley was shot toward the 3 Crow Riders. The 3 Crow Riders then quickly spread out to dodge the incoming attack. One of them closed in and thursted his claws onto the tank body.

"Maximum Cannon." it released a sphere of fire from it claws and drilled a hole on the tank body then quickly backed away. The tank exploded and all soldier within range were caught up in the explosion. The other two tanks also took damage.

"Take the wound to the medic! Change from formation A to formation D! Do not let them get to the research facility!"

As two sides were exchaging fire, a bit far away from there, a shadow was moving through the forest. He stopped once he reached his destination.

_"2 guards, not even worth my time." _he said as he leapt down from the tree he was hiding and appeared in front of the two guard in a blink of eye. Before they even got time to react, he thrusted his palms at their throat and strangled them, killing them isntantly. He then apped on the door to examine it thickness then raisd his leg.

With a loud sound, the door was blasted away. He got inside as the dim light revealed his identity. Dark purple hair.

"Main computer? How do you expect me to find the main computer from all these? They all look the freaking same!" Burai shouted as all the computer inside confused him.

"Screw this, I'll just copy everything down." he looked for a plug in port and inserted the USB that he was given. The USB then started copying all the data down.

"Next time he wants me to do this kind of job, the objective better has a label on it." he complained. Then he suddenly stopped and grinned widely as he turned around. Helputt was at the door, examining the two guards condition.

"You have serve your country well." after confirming that they are dead, Helputt closed their eyes with his hand. He saw dead crawling on his men body countless time, but it never been a pleasant sight.

"So you are the one that they call White Colossus, Helputt Seiker." Burai asked.

"It is not an honour to have my name known by the kind like you." Helputt said as he stood up. The USB then started blinking as it just completed copying all the data down.

"Stay away from that USB." Helputt warned as he lifted the giant object next to him and pointed at Burai.

"What if I don't comply?" Burai asked back.

"Then you won't be leaving this place in one piece." upon hearing that, Burai grinned widely and retrieved the USB and shoved it into his pocket.

"Try me." he raised his handand made a provoke gesture. Helputt then pulled the trigger on the giant object in his hand as a blightening light filled the laboratory. Then a missile came out from the object. Burai's eyes widened as the missile flew toward him and created a big explosion upon contact. As Helputt spun on his heel and about to leave, Burai voice rang.

"A little too soon to be leaving." he quickly turned around and from the smoke, Burai came charging toward him and threw a straight kick. Helputt raised his weapon to block the attack. His physical strength is something that he proud of, but when Burai threw his kick, Helputt was pushed back slightly. Using the force of the kick, Burai leapt back to gain distance.

"If you think a missile can take me down, think again."

"It seems you are no ordinary brat."

"Heh, you bet." Burai laughed and charged at Helputt again. Last time he sent out one kick, this time he sent out 4 continuous kicks while airborning. Helputt used both his arms to hold his weapon to block the attack.

"Brutal Swing!" he swung the weapon with great force and sent Burai flying. He did some somersault in mid air and landedon his feet. Not letting him have any chance to recover, Helputt charged at him and swung his weapon downward. The force was strong enough for the groundwhere Burai was standing to crack. But Burai himself was stopping the weapon with his bare hands. For someone to rival Helputt strength...

"Oy, did you really went through hell and back?" Burai asked.

"That's what I heard they all said when your name is mentioned. Such stupid exaggeration." he said and pushed the weapon back while Helputt was still vulnerable, Burai quickly moved forward and landed a kick on his chest. But it didn't end there. Sensing the danger, Helputt pulled the trigger of his weapon and using the force of the blast to dodge to aside. His intuition was spot on. As Burai landed his kick, half a second later a giant black spike with red hue erupted from his leg. If Helputt was a moment late, the spike would have pierced through his heart. Because he took evasive action, the spike missed his heart and pierced his shoulder.

"Just because you've been through many battles, they labeled you as someone that went through hell and returned. Do you human even consider your word before speaking?" he said while looking at Helputt who right shoulder was spilling out blood non stop. Even with the white armor that made his title of White Colossus, the black spike pierced it with ease.

"Look like this is the extent of the White Colossus. Oh, my ride is here." Burai said and turned around as a helicopter appeared before them. Burai then spun on his heel and was about to walk toward it, the helicopter was destroyed with a missile.

"A little to soon to be leaving." Helputt said and stood up again.

"You have my compliment. How about I give you a prize? A one way trip to hell." Burai grinned and punched his knuckles together.

* * *

-About half an hour earlier-

As the 3 Eltrions were flying about 2 meters above the sea surface, team A and B, or Cadence 1 and 2 were following behind.

"Anything yet, Add-kun?" Feuer asked through the communicator.

"Something is defnitely out there, but the signal is still faint." Add answered while controling the 3 Eltrions and checking on their sonar sensor. According to the intel that the recon group gathered, around this time every night the animal will started going berserk. Since the fishermen were normal, meaning it was something that only affect animal. No strange phenomenon occoured, and no one saw anything coming from the sea. Which means, it was something that cannot be seen or grasped, and only affect animal.

Sound.

Animal have far more sensitive senses than human, so they can hear the sound that human ears can't. If the sound goes over 45 kHz, it could make a dog goes mad. So Add installed a sonar detector for each Eltrion to find the where about of the source of the sound. They reached another 2 kilometers limit so Rena dropped another signal transmitter. Then the screen displaying the radar caught something.

"We got something." Add said and controlled the Eltrions to move to the location on the radar. Shortly after, they stopped. The Eltrions turned on the flashlight and hovered around the target. It was some sort of machine. The Eltrions lifted it up for closer inspection.

"Judging by the look, it is some kind of sound emitter used for training animal. But it seem the company set the highest limit a bit too overboard. Don't know it was by mistake or intentional" the Eltrion then turned the device around.

"As I thought. This thing fell from a cargo ship, and now it's shortcircuited. Explaining how it started working spontaneously." then Add saw the name of the company that made the device. He looked it up on the internet and saw many interesting thing.

"Shadowmaster Company. Specialize in electronic devices, but they got lots of shady activities. That thing is probably one of their products for those activities. Remember those scums we met yesterday? One of them is the heir of that company. I can't wait to see the look on his face if this thing is made public." Add laughed and controlled the Eltrion to put the device onto the boat.

"Well, it's mission clear. We bring this back and good night Sunken Resiam." Add said as they all felt relieved. As they were about to return, the cliff nearby suddenly collapsed. They were quite a distance off the shore so they didn't notice. Because someone was fighting on that cliff, the boulder fell into the sea, and awoke the sleeping beast.

As they were about to turn the boat around, from the depth ofthe sea the Coral Sea Serpent appeared.

"Initiate plan B!" Add shouted as Feuer and Aisha turned the boat around and drove away. Add controlled the Eltrions to distract the Serpent. The Eltrions flew around the Sea Serpent while shooting their missiles at him. They are just normal piece of plastic in the shape of the missile, but Add replaced them with mini firework.

"It's not summer without firework!"

Plan B was, to lure the Sea Serpent back to the Sunken Resiam, where the Iz and Laguz were waiting. They will cast a spell to calm the Sea Serpent down. If that didn't work, they will have to result in using the electric shock from the Eltrions that Add installed to give him a good sleep.

* * *

"From a toy friendly to children, you turned it into a lethal weapon. Genius! Brilliant!" Shiraga.

"Keep them praise coming." Add.

* * *

Their current location was near the Magmanta Cave. Quite a long distance back to Sunken Resiam. Even with the distraction of the 3 Eltrions, the Sea Serpent insisted on chasing after the two boats. Unfortunately, the Sea Serpent knew what the signal transmitters are for, so with a body slam, it created a tidal wave and washed all of them away. Being out of range, the Eltrions dropped into the sea, one by one.

"God dang it these things!" Add cursed and left the tent, taking the controller of the Eltrions along. He quickly ran down the road to the secret spot and hopped onto the jet ski.

Back at the others, even when they were going at maximum speed, the Sea Serpent was right on their tail.

"Aisha-san! Split out!" Feuer shouted. Then they seperated into two different direction. The Sea Serpent then decided to chase after Feuer group. But the Sea Serpent stopped instead of continue chasing. It opened it mouth as something started forming inside it mouth.

Rena-senpai! Alisa-san! Abandon ship!" Feuer sensing danger, urged the other two. They quickly jumped off the ship as the Sea Serpent shot out the thing in it's mouth. The boat was destroyed by the blast. if they were still on the boat, they would have met the same fate.

The Sea Serpent then charged at them. But before he could reach them, he received a big shock of electricity.

"This way you bastard!" Add shouted riding on the jet ski. Now that he got the Sea Serpent attention, he drove it away to buy some time for Aisha to rescue the others.

"Guys!" Aisha rode the boat closer to pick the others up.

"Add-kun! We will rendezvous as planned!"

"Got it!" Add answered and turned the jet ski toward the Sunken Resiam, with the Sea Serpent following closely behind.

Back on the cliff that fell of earlier, the battle was drawing near to the end.

"Huff...huff..." Helputt was on one knee, with blood dripping down from his forehead. His armor was all cracked up with other serious injuries. If it was a normal person, he would have died ten times over. On the other hand, Burai was still in one piece and was standing only on his right foot.

"You aimed for my leg to slow me down and also limit my movement. Well, not like I haven't encounter this kind of tactic in the past. But, to be able to take down one of my leg in such short time. You have my compliment." Burai laughed still maintaining his stance.

"You talk like you have seen them all."

"As a matter of fact, I did. 600 years worth of battle experience isn't something just for show." he said and put his wounded leg back on the ground. But didn't Helputt just broke that leg with his weapon like 5 minutes ago? Now he was standing like nothing.

"You...just what are you?" Helputt asked with his eyes widened. Hearing that, Burai grinned and walked toward Helputt. When he came close enough, he crouched down before him.

"Some food for thought, the last survivor of an extinct race." was his answer. While Helputt was still bewildered, he stood up and raised his hand.

"All fun must end. Farewell, Mister White Colossus of Hamel." a blade formed on his arm, with the same black and red hue color like the spike earlier. As he swung it down, a bullet hit his arm and knocked the blade off it trajectory.

"Tch, party pooper." he clicked his tongue and leapt back. It seemed the Nation Guard had done taking care of the Crow Riders and was join force to back Helputt up.

"General Helputt secured!"

"Bring the medic!" the soldiers covered Helputt and quickly cornered Burai. Even Helput was not a problem to him, he could deal with them at ease. But doing so will risk the USB being damaged in the progress. And he received order to leave when the whole National Guard jump in.

"I can kill you all with ease, but I got order to retreat if you guys decided to butt in."

"Later." he said and jumped off the cliff. The soldiers quickly moved toward the cliff to check. They turned on the light, and saw Burai was dashing on water. The soldiers then started hailing on him with bullets, but he dodged all of them. Helputt with his last bit of strength, stood up and positioned his weapon.

"General! Please refrain from moving, you are suffering heavy loss of blood!" the medic warned.

"That USB...must be destroyed!"

"Quantum...Ballista!" Helputt pulled the trigger as a giant warhead was shot into the air. Shortly after, it fell down into the water and exploded. The power it released was equal to that of a tactical nuke. Part of the shockwave traveled while part of it caused a tsunami, and Burai got swept along with it.

"Should have brought my surfing board along."

Further out of the shore, the Sea Serpent was still hot on the Cadence tail.

"We are almost at Sunken Resiam!" Feuer shouted. Then out of nowhere, a shockwave traveled pass them and knocked them off their route. They stopped and didn't even have time to see what just happened. A giant tsunami came closely behind and swept them along with it. Both the Cadence and the Sea Serpent.

Second day of their vacation, and they got swept away by a tsunami, with a Sea Serpent, and a mysterious guest.

* * *

**Shiraga: **In the original draft of the story, Burai wasn't intended to appear, Feuer as the only OC will appear. But then I realize I will need some kind of a douche bag, or a rival kind of a character for the protagonist, which is Add. And...there you have it and here he is, Burai Kudoku.

"For the protagonist to stand out, a strong rival is needed." they said.


	19. Chapter 19: Burai Kudoku

**Shiraga: **waaah, sorry for this hella long update guys. Just came back home from a long vacation. Sorry to everyone that got troll by my announce that this chapter will be updated soon in The SHinre of the Foxes

Anyway, for this chapter reference:

Burai: Terror Kaiser

Enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 19: Burai Kudoku**

* * *

Previously,

"Add-kun! We will rendezvous as planned!"

"Some food for thought: the last survivor of an extinct race" was his answer

"That USB…must be destroyed!"

"Quantum…Ballista!"

After the Quantum Ballista made contact with the sea, it released a massive energy explosion and created a tsunami. Being swept along with the tsunami was a group of 7 who was trying to recover the peace to the sea creature, and an unexpected guest whom was the source of all this shenaningans.

Unbeknown to both party, that their fate shall intertwined.

* * *

The next morning, on an uninhabited island off the coast of Hamel. On the shore, many broken wooden planks, the remnants of what used to be a boat could be seen clearly. Lying on the golden sand, was Ara. The gentle sea waves splashed water on her face until she slowly regained conscious.

"Uhm…uhm…" she finally opened her eyes.

"Where…am I?" she looked around to see an unfamiliar sight. It wasn't her room nor their room at the resort. Then she remembered about all the event from last night and quickly stood up.

"Where's everyone?!" she ran along the shore to look for others. Luckily, just a few meters from her location she found Aisha.

"Aisha-san!" she kneeled down beside Aisha to check on her condition. Her breathing was very weak. She must have swallowed too much water when being swept by the tsunami.

"Wah! Wah! I-in situation like this, I-I must perform CPR!" Ara got flustered and tried to remember about how to perform CPR. She then placed both her palm on Ara stomach.

"Aisha-san! Please wake up!" and she used the wrong method. With more than sufficient strength, she pushed both her palm on Aisha stomach. Being hit with great force, Aisha spat out all the water she swallowed, but the side effect was that she will have a stomachache for about a week.

"I'm so glad you woke up, Aisha-san." said Ara not knowing that Aisha was internally cursing bad words. What Ara used wasn't normal CPR, but her Haan family technique, Steel Body. Luckily it was only her palms. Imagine if it was her whole body.

"Did…you learn that…from a class for…killer…?" Aisha tried to mutter up her words.

"Never mind…Where are the others?"

"You are the first one I found. Everyone must be nearby, I hope." Ara said with worried tone. It was understandable. Hamel consisted of one big island, where the city stands and lots of small islands. If they got separated during the tsunami and washed ashore of other islands, then there would still be hope. But if they got sucked into a whirlpool…

"I'm sure they will be fine, and are looking for us as we speak." Aisha reassured Ara.

"Yes. Sorry for saying something stupid, Aisha-san." just as Ara finished her sentence, they saw a wind arrow flying skyward and exploded like a signal flare.

"That's wind magic, must be Rena-senpai! Let's go!" feeling relief knowing that others were also on this island, Ara and Aisha quickly ran toward the direction where the arrow was shot. Not too far to the opposite direction that they went, Burai was lying on the shore unconscious. But after closer inspection, sound of snoring was heard.

"Rena-senpai! Alisa-san!" Ara waved at the two upon arriving at the destination.

"Thanks El, you two are okay." Now that four of them had rendezvoused, only Add, Feuer and Elesis are still missing. Then from afar, they heard sound of hurried footsteps coming closer. Then they saw Add carrying Elesis on his back and Feuer running like their lives depend on it.

"Add-ku-"

"Run!" Add shouted. Now that they took a closer look, a storm of dust was right behind the trio, and the cause of that storm was Black Ancient Crab. Lots of, lots of Black Ancient Crab. They're usually harmless, but if someone disturbed their territory, they don't take it kindly to intruder.

"Everyone! Run up that hill!" everyone kicked the ground and started running with all their might. Ancient Crabs don't take kindly to intruder, but they will never leave their nest further than 15 meters radius. So if they can run far enough, they can escape from being pinched by those pinchers. Ouch.

"Time to wake up, my sleepyheads!" Nasadia came bursting into the girl's room. But the room was empty, and the draft was still neatly in place.

"Hoho, could they be in the boy's room? Such boldness you got there girls~" then she closed the door and quietly sneaked to in front of the boy's room. After donning the outfit of a S.W.A.T, she kicked down the door with a megaphone in her hand.

"You're all under arrest for-" but again, the room was empty, the draft was still neatly in place, but one thing different was the opened balcony door and a rope tied into the handrail.

"Sweet mother of El." She quickly ran to the balcony and saw several foot prints on the ground. Judging from the number and location, the group consisted of 7. Well, she could have guessed that those foot prints belonged to Add and the others, but when Feuer leapt up to catch Alisa, the foot prints made it looks like a struggle happened here so she immediately thought that it was a kidnap. Thank you Rena-senpai, your action just made things more complicated.

"D-did they got kidnapped? You vulgar beings…kidnapping my V.I.P guests was one thing, but you dare do it when I'm currently slacking off to have some fun? You shall face the wrath of Nasadia Seraphia!" her rage filled up as she crushed the handrail made of stone with her hand. She then picked up her phone and called the manager of the resort who also used to be her butler when she was around Eve age.

"Avalanche!"

"Yes, my lady?" on the other side of the line, a man with tall figure, white hair that is pushed back with hair gel and white beard answered.

"Assemble the Navy. I want everyone at Elime's Wave in5, no exception!"

"Roger that, my lady!" Avalanche then picked up another phone that is the special hotline connected directly to Net, the captain of Hamel Navy force. Then a man, not really but an otter with ample figure picked up the phone. When calling any unit that associated with the army, the navigator would be the one to get the call then they will report back to the one in charge for further order.

But, to have a special hotline that connected directly to the captain of the Coast Patrol, one must be a force to be reckoned with.

"Mister Net, we have an emergency! Please gather all of your troops and present at the Elime's Wave!"

"Got it, we're on our way!" although having an ample figure that would fit with work on land more than on sea, Net is an otter-a species that dominates when underwater since birth. Net's experience on the sea is equal to his age in life. And this year he is turning 40, meaning he has 40 years of experience.

Net announced through the megaphone as all the trooper of the 01 platoon of the Hamel Navy suited up their gear and quickly hopped onto their boat. Their HQ located at hidden spot in Resiam Outskirt. Using the strong water currents to their advantage, and the state of the art technology for their boat, they can get to anywhere in Hamel in an instance.

And sharply 3 minutes later, they arrived at Elime's Wave. Nasadia arrived shortly after all the troops had formed a row in front of her.

"Gentlemen!"

"You are the pride of Hamel, and the symbol that many look up to everywhere! With your bravery, might and great sense of duty, none has ever committed a crime in Hamel and escaped safely. Although I may have retired but now I need your help once again. I am not asking you this as a mother who got her kid abduct, I am ordering you as former captain of Hamel Navy! Do I make myself clear?" Nasadia finished her speech as everyone represented at Elime's Wave raised their hand to salute her.

"Yes, ma'am!" the 01 platoon then got back onto their ship and spread out to find the culprit and the whereabouts of the victim of a mistakenly assumed kidnap.

"If the estimated time was after midnight and 7 were kidnapped, the culprit couldn't have gone far. Search every island there is in Hamel, turn the whole Hamel upside down if you have to!"

Now let's go back in time, to a couple years earlier. Before taking over the Seraphia Inc, Nasadia spent 3 years in Hamel Navy Academy. Due to her excellent grade, she was allowed to jump class and graduated earlier than everyone, and in the next 3 years, she held the position of the captain of Hamel Navy while Net was the Vice Captain.

Hamel Navy has a long history of 90% success rate of capturing criminal and the sea is their playground. And when Nasadia was appointed as the captain, the rate had increased to 100% and that tradition got maintained until today. She was the first female captain and also the youngest to hold the position.

But if counting only the youngest, there was someone who held a higher position at an even younger age than her. The Hamel army consisted of two main factions: Hamel Navy, the Holy Shield that protects it country against all invaders. And Hamel Artic, the Sword that stains on the blood of the nation's enemies with the National Guard consisted of members from both factions.

During Elrios War, the Hamel Artic played an important role as the spear head of all of Hamel attack on Velder. Their attack was like a raging typhoon on the sea, some even said they are the embodiment of Denif's wrath.

Holding the position of Hamel Artic Supreme Commander at the age of 24, that man was the youngest to ever archive such position at such young age in Hamel history while Nasadia was appointed the captain position when she was 26. But after 5 years in service, he retired.

He is respected by both the Hamel Navy and his subordinates in Hamel Artic for his skill in battle and strategy. Being laid back and care free, he sometime act on his own whim, but because of that, his subordinates can talk to him casually like two comrade, not a superior officer and an underling. And the female members find his care free attitude kinda charming.

But after 5 years in service, he retired. Everyone was shocked a bit, but knowing that it's their commander, he's probably acting on his own whim again.

The 01 platoon then spread out their force to search every nick and knack of every island there is in Hamel.

"Nasadia-kun, this is classified information, but I think you need to know. Last night, General Helputt got hospitalized." Net stood right behind Nasadia and talked loud enough for the two of them to hear.

"He what?" Nasadia couldn't believe what she just heard. For the White Colossus Helputt Seiker to got hospitalized, what kind of weapon of mass destruction is this?

"If this information leaked out, it'll spell trouble, lots of it." Net continued.

"According to Sig-kun, last night there was a raid at the research facility TFW-00. But General Helputt felt something was off, so he headed to another location and fought with someone. When the whole National Guard rushed in, he escaped but General Helputt, his right shoulder received critical damage. Even so, he tried to stop the culprit with Quantum Ballista despite his injury." Net sighed.

"That dumbass! You can be selfless all you want, but think about your subordinates and those that have to see you in that state!" Nasadia gritted her teeth.

"The raid also occurred after midnight last night, but I think it's just a coincidence and have no relation to this kidnap. We already dispatched troops to search for the whereabouts of the culprit."

"For now, let just focus on our task at hand." Nasadia said.

"_Everyone, please be okay."_

Back on the island, the group had safely escaped onto the hill, and the Ancient Crab had gave up and returned to their nest. They stopped to catch their breath while Add pinched Elesis's cheek because she was sleeping the whole time.

"Wake up sleepyhead, it's almost midday."

"So, anybody have any idea why we all ended up here?" Aisha asked.

"I remember we got hit by a tsunami. Don't know what created it though." Ara answered.

"First, we need to know where exactly is 'here'." Rena advised. Everyone agreed so they moved up the hill to a higher place. On top of the hill, without the obstacles like buildings, their range of vision reached to the horizon. Their current position was an island, they saw many other islands from the top of the hill, so they must still be within Hamel.

"We know that we are still in Hamel, but how far off the shore exactly." Add asked.

"Ah, I can ask for help." Alisa said and closed her eyes. Then she started singing as the wind started swirling around her gently.

"Such beautiful voice." Aisha complimented.

"Feeling…sleepy again…" Elesis said while leaning from side to side.

"What is she doing?" Add asked Rena.

"She is talking to the wind spirit. While we elves can communicate with the spirit to ask for their aid, the fairies can 'talk' to them and ask them about many things. And the spirits seem to really love Alisa-chan's voice." Rena explained with a smile. Feuer stood there, mesmerized by the goddess in front of him.

"She's just perfect." The words left his mouth unintentionally. A few minutes later, Alisa stopped singing as the wind settled down.

"We are currently 37 kilometers off the shore."

An awkward silent fell upon them.

"Distance between each island is 5-8 kilometers. Using electricity as stimulant, each time can last for 2 minutes, assuming I can reach the maximum speed of 100 m/s in 30 seconds then I can travel 9 kilomete-" except for Add. He was seriously taking the idea of swimming back to the mainland into consideration and was writing an equation on the sand.

"You are not going to do any swimming, Add-kun." Feuer karate chopped Add head. Then everyone belly started growling. It was already midday and they still haven't had breakfast yet.

"Maybe we should take care of our stomach first."

"Yeah, good idea." Everyone then started moving down the hill to look for food. This is a tropical island, so there bout to be some lying around somewhere.

"So we have the equation of 37/9 x 2 + 37/5 x 15 equal 117. So it takes about 2 hours to swim back to the mainland."

"You're still going on about that?"

They moved to the southern side of the island, opposite from their first location as fruits usually appear on the southern side, and they don't want to have any more trouble with the Ancient Crab.

"There's a coconut palm." Alisa said pointing at a tall tree in front of them.

"I'll get it." Feuer said and climbed up the tree. Using both his legs to hold him in place, he carefully separated a coconut from the tree.

"Everyone, please help me out." Alisa gathered the wind into a small cyclone that acted as a basket. Feuer dropped the coconut and the cyclone caught it. Then another one and another one. Then one of the coconuts rolled out of the cyclone and fell down right above Alisa.

"Alisa-san!" Feuer quickly slid down the tree and with a back flip kick, he sent the coconut flying.

"Are you alright?" Feuer asked worriedly.

"I'm okay, but what about your leg?" Alisa asked back with even more worried tone.

"I'm fine. Thanks to a certain someone special training, my legs can take much more than this." He said that, but his leg was clearly having a big bruise.

"Sit down and show me your leg."

"I said it's oka-"

"Feuer-kun!" Alisa insisted. Feuer had no choice but to sit down. Alisa examined the bruise then placed her hand slightly above it. A small orb of wind magic gathered in her palm. Then the bruise slowly healed and disappeared.

"You may think it's fine, but I don't. Just express your emotion when you feel like it, don't conceal it inside. There are those that will be sad when seeing you suffer. So Feuer-kun, when you have something you want to talk, feel free to talk to me, to everyone around you, okay?" Alisa finished healing his bruise and smiled at him. Feuer turned his face away to hide his red bead blushing.

"_She is just too cute!"_

Back to the coconut that Feuer kicked away earlier, it flew to the north side of the island and soon reached the shore where they washed on. And it was coming right toward Burai who was still snoring. But as the coconut came into range, Burai despite still sleeping, raise his fist and turned the coconut into million pieces. Then only the sound of him snoring was left.

"Rena-senpai! Wait up!" Aisha was following Rena who was moving through the forest swiftly as if the trees weren't really that big of obstacles for her while Aisha was having difficult in just pushing the tree branches away. Well, Rena is an elf, whom spent most of her life in the forest.

"Hmm…it should be around here…Ah, here we go!" Rena looked around for a bit then crouched down at a nearby tree. She examined the tree's base closely then with a smile, she waved for Aisha to come closer.

"Aisha-chan, can you move the soil at this spot aside?"

"L…let me…catch my breath…first…" Aisha stopped to catch her breath. After a few deep inhales and exhales, she poured her mana into the soil at the root of the tree. The soil turned into a small sphere with 2 legs sprouted and walked away from the tree root.

Rena clapped her hands together, then carefully cut the root.

"Is that thing edible?" Aisha asked a bit worry.

"Very nutritious, if I may say. You can make soup, stew, used as side dish, or you can just was it clean and eat it raw. Anyway is fine." Rena said and sliced a small piece off and gave it to Aisha while she also helped herself with one.

Aisha hesitated, then closed her eyes and shoved the piece of root into her mouth.

"It's…good!"

"See? I told you so." Rena smiled and took another slice. After she swallowed it, she turned to rena.

"The elves only eat vegetables, right?"

"Yes. We use only what provided by Goddess Gaia and never taint her land with blood."

"T-then…is that the secret to your…breast size?" when Aisha asked, Rena got startled and backed away a bit.

"N-n-no! What makes you think that?"

"If you don't eat meat, then where did all the fat in those things come from?" another question that made Rena gaped and not knowing how to answer.

"M-maybe I'll know if I check them out myself." Her curiosity got the best of her.

"W-w-wait, Aisha-chan?"

"Sorry Rena-senpai, I must know!"

Shortly after, a high pitched scream with a bit of pleasure mixed in it, following by several moans that will not be described in detail were heard.

Meanwhile,

Ara, using her martial art technique, was running on the sea surface. Well not really running, she was kicked the water surface fast enough before her feet could sunk. When she saw a pack of fishes, she moved in within a designated radius around the fishes and let her shadow fall to make it look like a big fish is coming.

"Phantom Fox Stance 2: Specter Restraints!" after she had lured the fishes close enough to the cliff where Elesis was waiting, she summoned a fox claw and threw them up high.

"Elesis-san!" Ara shouted. Elesis who was waiting on the cliff then lowered her stance as she reached her hand for a long tree branch on the left side of her hip, imitating the stance in kendo.

"Unlimited Blade!" a flurry of sword strike, with each precise hit she knocked the fish unconscious as they dropped on the ground near her, unmoving.

"That should be enough for everyone." Ara came back to the cliff as the two of them split the fishes into two, placed them on two giant leaves and brought them back to the others. On their way, they dropped by where Add said he would be. But he was nowhere in sight, instead they saw a small pool of sea water. Under the heat of the sunlight, the water evaporated, leaving the salt behind.

"Add-kun!" they called for him, but no answer. Then from the sea, the water split apart as Add swimming like a jet ski toward the shore, and went all the way into land. Due to large momentum, he grabbed a coconut tree nearby to halt his advance.

"Close call." He sighed.

"Add-kun, where have you been?"

"The sea floor. To pick up something." He said then showed them the things in his hand. It was the remnant of an Eltrion Mk I. They must have sunk to the sea floor when the tsunami struck.

"I saw the scrap of our boats floating over there, so these guys must be somewhere nearby. Never thought it would sunk near a piranha nest though."

"But why do we need it?"

"To build a transmitter and transmit signal back to the mainland. Although the first plan to swim back to the mainland was waaay faster." He said with a sigh. Although Feuer already said there won't be any swimming back to mainland, Add definitely would swim back to the mainland on the first chance he get.

Add harvested the salt from the small seat water pool and put them into a leaf pocket, then they returned with their spoils. When they returned to where the others were, Feuer found a giant clam shell so he used it as a cooking pot. Alisas was cutting the roots into small piece. Rena, on the other hand was hugging her knees with a depressed expression under a tree, mumbling something about she can't get marry anymore while Aisha was making a weird gesture with her hands, fantasizing about something.

"The hell happened to them?" Add asked.

"I don't know the detail either. But it best left as a secret to those in question." Feuer answered then took the fishes from Ara and Elesis. Getting rid of the intestines and other inedible parts, Feuer then skewered the fishes with small sticks of wood. Then he lit a fire on the firewoods that they found while picking coconuts. Placing them near the fire, add some salt and you have yourself a feast. Fresh and delicious.

Alisa then took care of cooking the root. Placing the giant clam shell onto the fire, she then poured some water in and waited for it to heat up. Next were the tree roots that were cut into pieces. They produced the distinctive smell, yet pleasant at the same time.

"Hah!" still having the tree branch that she used to knock out the fishes from earlier, Elesis dashed through the coconuts laying on the ground. When she stopped, the coconut, every single one of them split open. Everyone then grabbed a half of the coconut and enjoyed the sweet, refreshing juice inside.

* * *

"You were expecting the watermelon smash scene, but it was I! Coconut chop scene! and fanservice jiggling was involved!"

* * *

"Everyone, the food is ready!" Alisa called when the roots were done cooked. Living in the nature, one can never be picky about anything. You have to make use of everything you have at hand, and sometime it will give you some additions as a reward.

Using the half of the coconut as a bowl, Alisa poured the soup for everyone. The soup was top notch with what they could find, and the inside of the coconut added a strange taste, yet blended well with the soup to the tongue. If putting the fact that they are washed ashore an uninhabited island, one would think they're simply here for a vacation.

When they had finished their meal, it was already sunset. The sun was disappearing behind the horizon, they could spend the night on the beach, as long as the sky is clear. Or so they thought. As they were cleaning up, cloud started billowing on the sky.

"Looks like it's going to rain." Said Aisha.

"Just what we need." Add said sarcastically.

"Follow me. We found cave while collecting food." So they followed Aisha. Just like she said, there was a cave not too far from where she and Rena collected the roots. And it seemed there isn't any creature living inside. They quickly got into the cave and shortly after, was a heavy downpour.

"It started raining. I hope those on the other island found the cave." From the island nearby, on the hill was a small wooden cottage, electric light could be seen through the window.

"It started raining." A man standing next to the window said while scratching the back of his neck.

"Hope they found the cave."

"How is the search proceeding?" Nasadia asked. Despite the heavy rain, she did not back down to the cabin and remained on deck.

"Ma'am, due to the heavy rain our vision and movement have been restricted significantly. I'm afraid we will encounter great difficulties if we continue the search in under this condition." A soldier reported back to her. Nasadia bit her bottom lip. She worried about the kids, but she cannot have the entire elite platoon 01 of the Hamel Navy rush into a raging storm, and risk their lives like this.

They are trained navies, so even if the boat got sunk by a tidal wave, they know how to take care of themselves. But that will prolong the search for the others and that is the last thing she wanted.

"Order to all ship: take cover on the nearest island. We will depart again as soon as the storm cleared."

"Roger that!" as Nasadia ordered, the search party pulled their ships over to the closest island and quickly set up the camp. Nasadia stayed in the commander tent with Net, but her heart was not at ease.

Meanwhile, due to the rain the water level rose. And because of that, Burai got washed away by the water, and is now floating on the sea. The raindrops fell on his face and woke him up.

"It's raining? And I'm floating on the sea…Whatever, back to sleep." He said and went back to sleep.

The rain persisted until midnight. Thanks to the cave that Aisha and Rena discovered, the group luckily avoided getting wet. Using giant leaves as blanket and heap of small ones as bed, everyone was sleeping soundly around a small fire. Except for Add. His spot was nearest to the door of the cave. In front of him were the remnants of the Eltrions Mk I that he said he will use to make a transmitter.

In the night, there was only the sound of the rain outside, the sound of human fixing a piece of modern machine in the midst of nature and the sound of flickering fire. Then, Ara who was still sleeping opened her eyes.

"Add-kun, you're still awake?" she sat up while rubbing her eyes.

"Ah, sorry. Did I wake you?"

"It's okay. You don't have to worry." Ara said then walked closer and sat down next to Add.

"Are you making the transmitter?" she asked.

"Correct. Luckily, I managed to salvage just enough components." Add said while his hands were still moving, putting the parts together while checking the circuit board. Ara just quietly sat next to him and watched him work. The atmosphere fell silent again, until Add spoke up first.

"You don't seem to be worried."

"You mean?"

"I mean, normally if you were to get washed ashore an uninhabited island, you would be at least worried or scared."

"I think it's because my family is a long line of martial artist, so since young age, I've already trained in the mountain, in the forest, isolated from the modern world. Before I know, I already got used to it. Sometime, I think I preferred being alone." Ara said while hugging her knees closer to her, remembering about the time when she trapped herself in the Martial Art club dojo after her brother sudden death.

"Look like we're both alike about that."

"After my parent's death, I became depressed. All day long, I spent most of my time in the library reading about my father's research on machinery as they are the only things left that connected me with him."

"Feuer also suffered a deep scar just like me. But he tried to be happy, and always put a smile on. Since birth I guess, we both are always competing with each other, but most of the time, I'm the one who started it. I had won many times, and lost to him many times. So when I see him putting a smile on that face despite inside he is also crying, I just hate it. There is no way I can't lose to him. Then one day, I left that library." Add stopped for a bit to collect his thought then continued.

"But, thinking back now, he knew that I would never turn away from a competition with him. So he used that to his advantage and forced me to go outside. That damn guy, he is always a step ahead of me." He said scratching the back of his head.

"You two are very close to each other, right?" Ara said with a smile.

"Guess so. But, leaving that library maybe was the right choice after all. I found a new goal, I experienced many wonder things, and especially meeting you all." Then, a lightning stroke so the last word that Add said got swallowed by the loud sound.

"It's already late. Sleep well." Add said then laid down. Ara then also returned to her spot. But after lying down, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't go back to sleep.

" '_especially meeting you.' " _that sentence kept lingering in her mind. Her face heated up as red a tomato. She covered her face while trying to suppress her emotion.

It was a long night. When all living being had gone to their slumber, only the sound of the raindrops remained.

* * *

The early morning, when Solace was just slightly above the horizon and started shedding the first light of the day. After a long night, the rain finally stopped. The sear returned to it peaceful state with the waves moving gently.

"Aaaaah~ what a nap." Burai who had finally decided to wake up let out a long yawn. He then looked around and saw nothing but water.

"I must have washed pretty far away from the shore. Which direction was Hamel again?" he looked around trying to figure out which way to go. Then he checked his pocket. It was empty. The USB was gone.

"Dang. If I go back empty handed, I'll surely get an earful." So he was about to swim back to the island. Then, he got overshadowed by something. Something gigantic.

"Grrr…" the Coral Sea Serpent. Still haven't calmed down from the sound emitter, then got enraged by the group and got struck by the tsunami. Even for a peaceful specie, the Coral Sea Serpent now is anything but peaceful.

"A morning workout doesn't sound bad." Burai grinned widely as he provoked the Coral Sea Serpent.

"Show me that you live up to your title, King of the Deep Sea." The Coral Sea Serpent then charged at Burai. The battle between the king of the sea, and a beast in the shape of a human began.

* * *

_Long, long ago, since immemorial, exist a race of beast man. With physical strength many times greater than a human and ferocious fighting technique that put them on par with even the demon, they are Elrios strongest fighter, a force to be reckoned with. Where they came from, where is theirs homeland remained as a mystery until this very day. They live all over Elrios, never stay in one place for too long. They're always on the move, with one sole purpose, seeking a strong opponent to prove their power to their king._

"_Only the strongest may claim the throne. Now go, my children. Show me your power, show me that you are worthy to stand above all."_

_With the vow they made, each and every single of them set on a journey. Many legends of these fighters were born all around Elrios. Later on, this event was recorded down in history as the 'Century Tournament' as it took place for 100 years._

_Amongst these fighters was a special individual. XXX. While his other kinds claim victory, what he claimed wasn't victory alone, but the lives of his opponents._

"_The weak should be devoured by the strong." He said_

_He was called the 'Bloody Gladiator' by his own kind and his opponent._

* * *

When Solace became completely visible above the horizon, the group came out of the cave and had a quick breakfast with the dried fish and coconut from yesterday.

"Just press this button and it will transmit a SOS signal within a wide range. Transmit it from the top of the hill so the signal can reach further." Add showed Feuer how to use the transmitter. He finished it during their breakfast and the only thing left to do now is to put it to use.

"Where are you going?" Feuer asked when seeing Add running to the opposite direction.

"I need to pick up something. Let's meet at the beach after you transmit the signal." Add said then ran off. He ran toward the beach, where their ships crashed and looked around, under the wooden blanks and in the sand.

"Found it!" it was the sound transmitter that they found the other night. After all these trouble, they can't go back empty handed. When he was about to leave, something else caught his eyes.

"Hm? What is this?" he picked up the thing.

"An USB? Why is something like this here?" he was in his thought, then a loud noise pulled him out of it. It was the Coral Sea Serpent came crashing into the shore, causing the dirt to fill the air.

"This thing is still mad?!" he said then quickly put on a white glove. But as he was prepared for the colossal beast to charge at him, he realized that it was fighting with something else. No, being pushed back would be a better term. But what was it fighting against?

With a final attempt, the Coral Sea Serpent raised its head up high and smashed it down. But the one that it was fighting against was superior in strength and skill. Stand firm on one leg while delivering a skyward kick with the other one, the Coral Sea Serpent received a fatal blow into its chin and fell down on its side.

"What in the El?" Add could only stand there and stared. When the dust faded away, he could make out the silhouette of a person.

"You got effort, but not enough." He said and walked away from the Coral Sea Serpent.

"Hey look, I'm back." He said as he recognized the familiar scene.

"Now where could that USB be?" he looked around and saw Add who was still in a ready stance. On one hand was his white glove while on the other was the USB.

"Hey you." He called which made Add startled a bit. Then he reached out his hand and pointed at Add.

"That thing you have there is mine. Now give it back." He said. But instead, Add hid the USB into his pocket.

"What if I don't?"

"Then I'll get it back, by force."

"Just what I want. You seem hella strong, defeating the Coral Sea Serpent that we struggled to deal with."

"Oh, I'm strong alright. Very so."

"The name Add."

"Burai, Burai Kudoku." With a brief introduction, they both rushed at each other, with a grin on their face.

"Ma'am! We received an SOS signal! It's from nearby!" one of the navigator on the ship reported.

"It must be them! Full speed ahead toward that direction!" Nasadia quickly gave the order as all ships headed toward the direction of the SOS signal.

"Add-kun! WE transmitted the signal! But what with all that noise just no-" the others, after transmitting the signal from on top of the hill ran to the beach as they promised to rendezvous there. But when arriving at the destination, a fight was already taking place.

Burai threw a jab, Add raised his arm to look as if he was going to block it, but he twisted his arm slightly and let the jab went through while himself using the open to close in and delivered his own jab. Burai then also raised his arm and blocked the jab. They both backed out then charged in again and threw a kick into aiming for each other face. Like knowing where the other will aim for next, he moved theirs head slightly to avoid the kick.

This time, Burai took the initiative. He quickly withdrew his leg and threw a strong punch. Add, using his right hand with the white glove on block the punch. But that wasn't the use of the glove. Add then released a bit of electricity into the glove as it transferred directly into Burai's arm. Burai got his arm paralyzed then threw a backflip kick, and backed out with a few flips.

"Some interesting tool you got there." Burai examined his arm. It got paralyzed, but he didn't feel pain, just slight sting. It must be electricity, not a martial art technique.

"Add-kun, who is he?" the others that had been standing still since, watching the two charging wildly at each other.

"Burai Kudoku. That's the only thing he told me." Add said while also backing out.

"He is a Yajuu." Then suddenly, Rena spoke up.

"Look like someone did their homework. Correct. I am from a race of beast man called Yajuu. Well, the last of my race to be exact."

"Although both the elf race and the Yajuu are originated from the vast forest, but unlike the elves that preferred to stay idly in the forest, enjoying the nature, we preferred to be on the move. While they only use what was given to them by Gaia, we don't. You can't have muscle if you don't eat meat. So yeah, relationship between both races isn't exactly good either." Burai shrugged. Then, being disturbed by the fight of the two, the Ancient Crabs started crawling out from their nest.

"Oh great, things just got more **crabby**." Burai said. By now, the effect of the electricity had wear off. Then his arms got covered in some sort of black material. He punched his knuckles together.

* * *

"I'm so hilarious." Shiraga.

"..." the others, stare at the camera like they are on The Office.

* * *

"Shall we continue our unfinished business?" Add looked around. The signal had been transmitted for about 15 minutes, so if someone had received it, they would already be halfway here.

"Everyone, may I ask you to fend off these off? I still have something I need to get out of this guy." Add said then charged forward again. Feuer sighed. He also didn't have the slightest clue on the situation, but this is the second time he saw Add having this much fun. The first was back in their first year, when they fought Raven and the Black Crow.

"Well, nothing we can do about this." Feuer shrugged.

"Everyone, please try to just scare them away and don't hurt them." So they spread around , fending off the raging Ancient Crab. But Rena still felt a bit uneasy.

"Quicksilver Accel!" Add rushed forward with a sphere of plasma in his hand. Burai then blocked the attack and got pushed back somewhat. But unlike the first time, his arms didn't got paralyzed despite touching a now even higher current of electricity.

"Yajuu's rule number 6: never fall the same trick twice." He grinned and kicked Add away. Add bent his body to lessen the force from the kick and landed without receiving much damage. Then he saw Burai extended his leg and lowered his stance to reinforce for his whole body balance, while also withdrawing his right arm.

Legs standing firm on the ground, without a sign of they would move even if the whole sky was to fall down right now. The upper body slightly leaned back to support for his arm that looked like it was collecting up energy for a strong attack. His form right now, was like

A cannon.

"Abyss Cannon…" Burai said as more and more of the black material like the one covering his arms started gathering in his fist. Add was still examining the situation, then he heard Ara shouted.

"Add-kun! Dodge!" he didn't know what she mean, but he also had some sort of bad feeling about what Burai next attack. So he quickly jumped aside. Then, at that moment Burai released his attack.

"203 Caliber!" a strong punch. The black material left his fist and flew forward, coming suit right after it was a giant air pressure like when a shell leaving the barrel of a cannon. The others also heard Ara warning and quickly moved out of the way. With force that strong, and an object flying at that speed, they all prepared for some kind of giant explosion.

But when the black material made contact with the Ancient Crabs in it trajectory, it just simply flew through them while a part of their body disappeared. As clean as if they were gouged out. Then the air pressure that came after blew the remnant up into the air. And just as the black material flew past the last Ancient Crab in its way, it disappeared while the remnant dropped down on the ground creating a horrifying scene.

Ah, so this is what they call 'Death'.

"How could he…"

"So horrible."

The scene they saw before their eyes made their mind spinning. Luckily, they had a quick breakfast, if not they would have thrown up everything.

"You have some good intuition." Burai said while looking at Ara. But what he received in return was anything but friendly glare.

"You bastard! This is between you and me! Why did you have to involve the others?!" Add gritted his teeth.

"What? The strong lives on while the weak perishes, simple as that. But in front of death, you're all equal. Only difference is that you're those that ready to accept death, or those that struggle in futile to escape death." Burai waved his finger as a provocation toward Add.

"Now let see, whether you're the first, or the latter." He said and was about to rush in again. Then a bullet flew toward him, aimed directly at his head.. He quickly halted his advance retreated just in a matter of second before knowing what is his brain's color. He looked to the direction where the bullet came from, same as the others.

"Good grief. I thought it was just some kids playing with firework, but look at what a mess you have caused." A boat stopped at the shore, and a man with short golden hair like the sun got off from it. He was wearing grey trouser with the length went over his knees, and a short sleeved dark blue shirt. In his hand was a fishing rod, and the other was a gun.

"Whenever things start to get to the good part, you party pooper just gotta butt in." Burai said with an unpleased expression.

"Oh, my bad about that. Having fun is fine and all, that's what youth is all about. But killing things around you is a no no. Don't your parent ever teach you that?" he said with a carefree tone, not caring the one before him was someone capable of things beyond a human capability.

"I got thrown into the forest to survive on my own as soon as I know how to walk. So yeah, never heard." Burai then charged at the man. With one punch, he broke the fishing rod. But the man remained calm and titled his head to a side to dodge the punch, Then he grabbed Burai arm, swept his leg and threw him into the ocean.

"Now then, mind telling me why you kids are here?" then he turned to the group. But Burai soon rose back from the water and charged at the man again.

"Interrupting while someone is having a conversation is impolite." He said and as Burai threw a punch, he used a small amount of force and pushed Burai punch away, making it go off its original trajectory.

"Now then, where were we?" he returned to the group. But just like the first time, Burai backed up again before they could start a proper conversation.

"Hahahahaha! You're an interesting one! Never thought I would find 2 new toys this time! You're more interesting than that White Colossus!" and like the first time, he charged at the man again. But this time, his opponent wasn't the man. A beam of light shot across his face. But he managed to dodge it. Hearing the name 'White Colossus', the man raised an eyebrown.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce my companion." From the sea, a magnificent figure, clad in golden armor that emitted shining light. The Holy Guardian that ended the Elrios war, Taranvash Light. (was gonna put a Saint Seiya joke here, but fanfiction doesn't have letter being cross format)

"Tainting this holy ground with innocent blood, I shall deliver a fitting punishment upon you, insolent being!"

"Good! You're good too! Come at me, Guardian of Light!"

"Now then, mind telling why are you all here?" the man asked. They then told him everything briefly.

"So you already sent an SOS signal huh. No wonder I already saw the Hamel Navy searching every nook and cranny around these parts since yesterday. But for them to mobilize the 01 platoon, you guys must be some big shots." He said then using the gun he had on his side, he loaded a cartridge and shot it toward the sky. It was a signal smoke.

"Ma'am, we saw a signal smoke from afar!"

"Toward there ASAP!"

The search party caught the signal smoke then turned their ships toward the direction.

"The Hamel navy should be here soon." Hearing that, Burai then kicked Taranvash away and gained distance between them.

"Tch, the biggest party pooper is coming. Yo Add!" he called for Add.

"We're still not done yet! We will meet again soon. When that time come, I'll come and get back my stuff and settle everything with you!" he said and ran off. Using the same method as when he escaped from the research facility, he ran on the water surface and escaped. But unlike Ara, his movement was way faster and each step was much longer. They all stared as Burai ran away.

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave. There is still something I have to take care." He said and walked off with Taranvash Light, leaving the bewildered group behind.

Sharply 3 minutes later, the Hamel Navy arrived. First thing first, Nasadia gave each of them a death hug. Then she returned with them while the Hamel Navy stayed behind. After they returned to the resort, they told Nasadia everything. Of course, they got an earful of scolding. Because their cause of act was of good will, she decided to halve the punishment that she was going to give them.

With that, the request they accepted from the Iz and Laguz had been fulfilled, and the sea of hamel returned to it peaceful state.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hamel Military Hospital. In the room at the end of the corridor in the special treatment area, was Helputt who got hospitalized. Around him was myriad of machines with state of the art technology, showing his heart beat and other stats. It is a room that not just anyone could enter, even the doctor.

Then the door slid open as the man with golden hair from earlier walked in. he stood right next to helputt's bed and sighed.

"Long time no see, old friend. Look what kind of a miserable state you're in now." He said and lit a small cigarette. Taking a deep taste on the cigarette, he blew the smoke out and continued.

"I know you deserve a rest, but this is not what I had in mind." Taking another breath, he turned off the cigarette.

"Don't worry, old friend. I'll get to the bottom of this for you. You just stay there and recover." He said then brought up a holographic screen from his phone.

"Burai Kudoku. El Academy huh. Guess my retirement will be put on hold then."

* * *

**Shiraga: **okay, you may already know who is that guy with golden hair already. In the original draft, he wasn't inteneded to appear, only Taranvash. But after some consideration, I still have on empty spot so there you have it.

I will update on the double next time. Sorry for the long wait and thank you for keep reading my story. Later folks


	20. Chapter 195 Part 1: Naga and Nasadia

**Shiraga: **yeah, just a VERY late update to let you guys know that I'm not dead yet

Enjoy folks

* * *

**Chapter 19.5 Part 1: Nasadia &amp; Naga**

* * *

After the Hamel Navy arrived the group returned to mainland with Nasadia. Hearing the full story from them, she immediately got to work. And they work really, really fast. The following morning there was the news about the company responsible for producing the sound transmitter had finally been brought to justice. The company was already infamous for several other shady businesses in the past, so it was only a matter of time until they're caught.

As for the Coral Sea Serpent, the Hamel Navy contacted the Elrios Wildlife Conservation branch in Hamel. Thankfully, it only suffered minimal external damage. Rest well and it should be healthy again in no time.

Everything worked out just fine. But something still hung onto Add's mind.

Currently, the group was traveling with Nasadia on her limousine. The road runs along the shore providing many breath taking sights that Hamel is famous for. While everyone was staring out of the car's windows, mesmerized by the scenery, Add was spacing out rather than enjoying like others.

_"The Yajuu, just like the Elf race, also originate from the forest, from Mother Gaia. But unlike us elves, the Yajuu preferred to travel over staying in one place. While the Elf well versed in archery and can receive help from spirits of nature, the Yajuu is unrivaled in close quarter, unarmed hand to hand combat and their physique far exceeded any other race, easily on par or exceed even the demon race. You could say they are the parents of most of ancient martial art style."_

_"The main reason why the Yajuu preferred to travel was to seek a battle worth fighting. From what I heard from my elders, the Yajuu does not choose a king base on bloodline. Only the strongest have the right to sit on the throne. That's why they spread all over Elrios to seek a strong opponent, to prove their strength to their brethen and to the world."_

_"But, one day they all disappeared. The last time that a Yajuu appeared was 700 hundred years ago. Ring any bell?"_

_"700 hundred years ago...the Demon Invasion on Elrios!"_

_"Correct. Having fought every kind of challenger from Elrios, the demon was the only race left they haven't fought. So when the Gate of Darkness appeared in Feita, Yajuu all over Elrios rushed over, like flies attracted by light."_

_"They fought vigorously, and the demon suffered heavy casualties, but in the end they were outnumbered. After 3 months of constant battle, the Yajuu, all that's left of them, engaged in their final battle. From then on, the Yajuu was but a bed time story and they were assumed extinct. Until today..."_

Add recalled about what Rena told him the day before and did some research. Just like she said, there were saga of the Yajuu in every nook and canny of Elrios. From Ruben to Velder, Hamel to Lanox, even the records of the region far in the north mentioned them as 'beast in human form dominating every battle and never know the meaning of defeat'.

But, something was off. Rena said that they also originate from the forest, but beside the records about their achievement, there was nothing else. What's more, there was no precedent case where a Yajuu is capable of magic. Sure, they already have superior physical strength and unrivaled fighting techniques so they don't really have a need for magic. Then what is the explanation for what him, what Burai did yesterday? That was clearly magic.

So many question marks appear after trying to find an answer for one annoyed Add. He hates it when he can't find an answer to his problem even after doing research.

"We've arrived, my lady." Avalanche reported. They stopped at the edge of a forest and walked for the rest of the way with Nasadia leading. They went further into the forest as the sun shone down through the gap on the foliage and the rustling sound from the sea breeze was like a serene symphony.

After a while of walking, something beside trees appeared in their sight. Standing near the cliff as it staring into the sea, was an old storehouse. Judging by the amount of moss growing on the wall, this place must have quite a long history.

"This place is...?"

"You could call this place my secret base. We used to come here a lot, the 5 of us." Nasadia said, her tone full of nostalgia.

They entered through the back door. Inside there were steel cargos, fuel tanks and many other obstacles positioned everywhere, like a shooting range. The second floor was only a corridor along the wall and a cross section in the middle. On the ceiling was several steel cable dangling down with a hook at the end of each.

They took the stair to go up. And surprisingly, there was another floor above. Unlike the two floors below, this one was rather vacant. There was only a table, 5 chairs and a big bookshelf. But the view of the sea and its surrounding that was what that counts.

In front is the endless blue sea, behind is the vast green forest.

"Now then, onto your first part of the punishment." then Nasadia mentioned something that made the group shudder. Seeing how Nasadia is a little eccentric, they were expecting something totally different from the usual type of punishment.

"We're making this place spotlessly clean." they received broom, duster and mop from Avalanche and was a little dumbfounded that they stared at her with poker face.

"C'mon! The place is not going to clean itself!" she clapped her hand 3 times and rolled up her sleeves.

"Hoh, the one ruling Elrios biggest company is going to pick up a mop? Now this is something you don't see everyday." Add remarked.

"I can make thing clean better than you, little boy." Nasadia shot back a taunt.

"Up for a challenge?"

"Bring it on. Let see what you're made of."

They were glaring thunder at each other as the group just quietly proceeded with their given task. Feuer, Alisa and Ara was in charge of sweeping the floor. Aisha, Elesis and Avalanche taking care of cleaning the wall. Rena ventilated the air and moved all the dust away. While Add and Nasadia...

"Oraaaaaaah!"

"Oooooooooh!"

Was running around mindlessly like they just escaped from an asylum with a mop. They were competing to see who can clean better and faster. Well, they did make things easier and faster. Now that the floor is cleaned, Add quickly proceeded to clean the wall and the ceiling. Nasadia also moved to dust off the bookshelf.

Then her eyes stopped at the back of the biggest book on the shelf. She pulled it out, and upon closer inspection, it was an album. On the cover was 'Memories of Denif'. She flipped over the cover. The first page, there was a photo of 5, Nasadia when she was younger, Leviathan, Ignis was wearing the Hamel Navy Officer uniform, and 2 other men donning the Hamel Artic Officer uniform.

'Graduation day' and the date was written below.

"Ah, how nostalgic."

* * *

-couple years earlier-

Hamel Navy Academy, the place where many heroes of Hamel were forged. And this is the place, where a certain mother spent 3 years before becoming the famous captain of the Hamel Navy.

On the training ground, was a large group of both men and women. The new batch of cadets that passed the entrance exam, those that in near future will be tasked with protecting Hamel. And this time, they were lucky, or should it be unlucky, to have Helputt, who was still a Colonel at the time, as their Chief Instructor.

"Welcome rookies! I see some promising face in this new batch of victim. From today onward will be the worst period of your life. You will be trained in both mind and body to surpass the limit of a normal human being and bring out the potential inside you."

"What? You thought just by taking the entrance exam your potential is already awakened and that's why you're here? Think again. That is just some half asleep stuff. These trainings will slap that potential of yours and wake it up completely."

"On the battlefield, even being entirely awake won't guarantee you will live through today and see the daylight of tomorrow. After 3 months of basic training to build a proper foundation for you all, the next 9 months you will learn on how to use and operate various type of equipments and vehicles. And the next 3 years will be true hell."

"Those who could not make it through the trainings will go home. Those who could, shall be rewarded with utmost respect. So I expect you all to do great and bring glory to our country. Do I make myself clear?" Helputt ended his speech as the crowd before him replied to his question.

"Sir yes sir!"

"I can't here you!" he shouted and the group shouted again, louder.

"SIR YES SIR!"

"Good! Now 10 laps around the field!" Helputt shouted as the group turned around and started running. The total size of Hamel Navy Academy training field could be equal to 3 soccer fields combined. Even one lap could cost a chunk of stamina, but if one could not do at least that, then they don't have the right go remain here any longer.

10 laps around the field was to build up stamina, the basic training consisted of many other trainings to set the foundation of necessary skill for the more advanced training later on.

Now, some were showing to have better skill at adapting to the training obstacles than others. And taking the lead was Nasadia.

She moved through the obstacle swiftly without having much difficulty. Hard to believe that she is just a rookie. There were a few more following closely behind her, but none of their movement was comparable to her.

"Lots of promising face indeed." Helputt who was standing on the sideline nodded then let out a big laugh.

3 months passed by. Although it was just physical training, but it's an important preparation for the upcoming, more intense trainings.

In the next 9 months, they were trained on assembling equipment from parts, efficiency with various vehicle and weapon, treating different kinds of injury, and hand to hand combat.

Just like the other training, Nasadia skill exceeded those in her class. None could hold their ground against her for more than 3 minutes before being pinned down on the ground. And after one week, no one dare to pair up with her during hand to hand combat training.

"You need something, cadet?" Helputt asked from the sideline when Nasadia approached him.

"Sir, no one would want to spar with me." she answered with a sigh.

"Hahaha! Because your skill is remarkable, that's for sure!" he complimented with a big laugh.

"It seems to me that you exceed all those from the same year as you. How about I give you someone more challenging?" he said then turned toward the upper class that was training on the training ground on the other side.

"Oy, Naga! Come here for a sec!" he shouted as those in the other class stopped their training and all their gaze was on a man with golden hair.

"Naga got called again!"

"You sure got one hell of a bad luck, my man!"

Some chit chat could be heard as the one in question let out a big sigh and reluctantly walked toward Helputt.

"Mind keeping your voice down a bit? Some are starting to suspect my relationship with you." the one named Naga spoke. He has messy golden hair, tall and not really buffed but proportional figure. Wearing the traditional military uniform like what every cadet wear, a pair of pants with white and grey camouflage pattern, a pair of black boots and a grey sleeveless shirt. His shirt was drenched with sweat so Nasadia could see part of his upper body underneath that shirt. And he seemed to be around her age.

"Let them be. Your skill will speak the truth for you." Helputt laughed as Naga sighed again.

"So, what is it this time?" he asked. When they both turned back to Nasadia, Naga got the gist of the situation without a word.

"Another prodigy that you set your eyes on and I am tasked with the oh so holy mission of testing them. Just what I need." he said sarcastically.

"Spar with her, and tell me your opinion." Helputt said then slowly moved back. Naga sighed again and turned to face Nasadia.

"I swear this guy is making full use of our relationship. No, maybe even beyond that."

"So, you are...?"

"Nasadia, Nasadia Seraphia, sir." Nasadia answered.

"Drop the formality. I may be an upper classman but I only enlist here a year earlier than you. I'm Naga."

"The rules are simple. Come at me any way you want, you can use any martial art or close quarter combat technique, but no weapon. Lose if your body touch the ground or when one side admit defeat. Well then, let's do this quick."

Naga finished his explanation as they both got into a stance. Nasadia raised both her arm close to her face and her hand curled into a fist while lowering her balance center. Naga also did the same but his hands were in release state instead of a fist, and his arms were further apart instead of forming a defense in front of his face.

_"Such weird stance. Is that what they learn in the second year?" _Nasadia wondered. She then kicked the ground and quickly approached Naga in a blink of eye. When she was within her reach, she threw a punch.

_"Good speed. Her aim is precise and her movement is unhesitating. No wonder the rookie couldn't catch up to her. But..." _Naga silently evaluated her. Then when her punch came into his range, with a small amount of force he deflected Nasadia punch off its original route while swiftly spun his body to the left and let Nasadia passed through.

_"That's why they're easy to read." _

Nasadia, with the momentum from her movement passed through Naga and nearly fell. But she quickly spun her whole body to redirect the momentum to her favor and regained her balance.

_"What? Did he just deflect my punch and used my own momentum against me? The instructor did teach us about this fighting method, but he's on a different level." _she thought. After taking into account Naga's fighting style, she attempted another attack.

Again, she quickly approached him and threw an uppercut with her left fist. Naga took a few steps back to dodge, using that chance Nasadia then spun around an delivered a roundhouse kick.

_"So the uppercut was just a bait. Still..." _Naga was a bit surprised but he quickly came up with a counterattack. He deflected the kick slightly to the right, but that is just enough of an opening for him as he spun his body to the opposite direction. After delivering the kick Nasadia was wide open so Naga closed in and thrusted his elbow forward, aiming for Nasadia head.

He stopped right in front of her face. The air around them seemed to freeze as the moment seemed like an eternity.

_"Guess that is enough to scare her-" _Naga thought as he examined Nasadia expression through the corner of his eye. But contradicted from what he expected, she was smiling.

_"Why is she smiling? Why in the El is she smiling? Is it normal for people to be smiling in this situation? No, I don't think she is normal. Wait, on second thought, I don't think anyone that's labeled as 'prodigy' is normal." _a train of thought crossed Naga's mind. He quickly backed out and readied his stance as his instinct was telling him things are far from over.

Ever since enrolling, Nasadia hasn't been able to 'socialize' much. It's not that she doesn't want to talk. There are also other female cadets enrolling Hamel Navy Academy, but she gives off a vibe of 'superior' around her while her remarkable skill also complimented to that, making approaching her seems hard, left alone starting a conversation. Even if she was the one to take the offense and started a conversation, the replies from the second party were rather, forced.

And so, among the new batch of recruit, she was secluded from the other.

But now, she was smiling. Probably the brightest smile ever since enrolling.

"Found ya!" was what her eyes were saying.

"You said your name was Naga, right?" she asked while readying her stance.

"There's still my surname but that brings nothing but trouble so it can be omitted. So, Naga is fine." he answered while rolling his eyes.

"I don't really understand, but...I like you." she said and charged forward. Naga was a bit dumbfounded at her word but he quickly came to his sense. He took a step back and bent his upper body backward while blocking a punch from Nasadia.

"Oy oy, was that a proposal or is this some kind of diversion?" he asked with a dry smile while grimacing a bit. Her punch this time was really strong.

"Haha, you're thinking way too deep!" Nasadia laughed while trying to push her fist harder in. Her action and facial expression was too contradicted that it's somewhat scary.

"It is as I said. I like you because you're different from others. Not just your skill and fighting style that is different, but the whole 'you'. Your way of talking, be it your superior like Colonel Helputt, or someone under you like me, you talk to them without being bound to who people see you as, but you talk to them as 'yourself'. Well, that's how I feel about you." now, Naga was even more dumbfounded.

"Yeah~ I nearly raised the death flag on several occasions thanks to the things you just mentioned" he said then threw a jab. Nasadia then backed out, but only a bit to get out of range of the jab then backed in immediately.

"Hahaha! You really are funny!" the situation now turned into a close quarter combat with the intensity of a whole different level. Nasadia with her unhesitating attacks that aimed for various vital points on the body while Naga countering each and every single one of them. Soon, both the instructors and other cadets attention was drawn toward their battle.

For a girl, Nasadia's physical strength doesn't seem to be any inferior to that of a man, if not stronger. Her attacks pack a lot more than they look. She soon adapted to Naga fighting style, especially his way of countering incoming attacks and his habit in his tactic.

Naga deflects the incoming attacks by using their force and momentun against them, then he close in for a strike. But attacks coming from his left side, he blocks them more often then the ones coming from the front and right side. And whenever he goes in for a strike, it is always when countering an attack from the right side. So Nasadia came up with a hypothesis:

Right is Naga's dominant side. He uses that side for offense while the left side is for defense. Counter is his primary weapon, so if she can exploit his weakness in blocking hit and overwhelm him with attack from the left side, she can win.

With that in mind, she changed her tactic. Nasadia now stormed Naga with attacks, all coming from the left side. Another thing that she realized is that she got the advantage in physical strength over Naga. So by forcing him to block strong attack, something that isn't his forte, she can create an opening.

Naga was forced into complete defense. Nasadia then leaned back and delivered a backflip kick, still pressuring Naga's left side. Naga knew that he cannot block this one so he fell back.

_"Now!" _this is the chance that Nasadia was waiting for. She kicked the ground and closed in almost immediately. Her whole now is like a gun. Her leg acts as the trigger, with proper foothold she pushed her whole body forward and threw her fist, like a bullet leaving the barrel.

But right when she thought that she got him, Naga move slightly aside to dodge the punch. He grabbed Nasadia arm, then, with his own and her force and momentum from her attack, he lifted Nasadia up from the ground, swung her over his head and slammed her on the ground. With a loud thud, she landed on the green grass field. Naga then crouched down and threw his fist. Just like before, he stopped his fist in front of her face.

"Making your opponent think they've got your weakness, then use their advantage to your advantage, that is also a part of countering. I win." he said and slowly moved his fist away from her face. And just like before, Nasadia was smiling.

"Somehow I got the feeling you will give me that face." he gave a dry smile then stood up and offered his hand. Nasadia then grabbed it and stood up.

Helputt who was watching idly from the sideline then gave the instructors a nod as they returned to their cadets.

"Alright cadets, you got 10 minutes to clean yourselves up before lunch is serve! Get moving!" the crowd then quickly dispersed, leaving Helputt, Naga and Nasadia behind.

"Looks like you're more than just to meet the eyes." Helputt gave his remark.

"So, what's your opinion?" he turned to Naga.

"She got both skill and strength, but her attack pattern could use some improvement. Overall, she's good. Might be the best amongst all the 'prodigy' that you set your eyes on til now." Naga commented.

"You have more than what it takes, I'll give you that. I look forward to what you can contribute to the motherland in the future." Naga said then turned around and walked away.

"Thank you for your guidance, Naga-san!" Nasadia shouted as Naga raised his hand into the air and waved. When Naga had disappeared from their range of vision, Helputt turned to Nasadia.

"Do you want to jump grade?" he asked. Nasadia then turned to him with her eyes widened.

"You mean..."

"Talent does not wait for age. f an individual can contribute great thing to the country, we have no reason to keep them in one place for too long."

"You will have to take a few tests to prove that you're worthy of that special treatment. Some were able to pass the tests, but the difference between basic physical and the advanced training was too big, they couldn't handle it. So think about it careful-"

"Please let me take the test." Nasadia answered without hesitating. Helputt was about to give her some advice, but her eyes showed that she was determined.

"Hahahahaha! This year has lots of promising face indeed!"

* * *

The next morning, second year block, class 2-C. Naga was at his seat, talking with the other guys in class. Then their instructor walked in and they all stood up and saluted him.

"Take your seat, everyone. This might seem a bit sudden but Colonel Helputt wants to have a few words. Colonel Helputt, if you may." he said then stepped away from the black board as Helutt walked.

"Greeting cadets. You all are the future of Hamel, and I'm sure each and every single of you are destined to do great thing. And today, I introduce you all a new comrade." the door then slid open as the one whom walked in made Naga's jaw dropped.

"I am Nasadia Seraphia. From today I'll be training with you all. Thank you for having me!" she introduced herself then raised her hand to salute. Her eyes were sparkling and she was staring at a certain someone while that someone was clenching his fist and glaring daggers at Helputt.

"That is all. Good luck on your training cadets." Helputt said then saluted and left the classroom.

"Now, cadet Nasadia, your seat shall be-" the instructor said while looking for an empty seat. But Nasadia already ran to the line of table in the back and sat down here to Naga.

"Here!" she said.

"Alrighty, suit yourself." the instructor said then turned to the black board. Nasadia then turned to Naga who was deliberately avoid making eye contact with her.

"Naga-san." she called his name as he slowly turned around.

"Yes?" he answered as Nasadia pointed her index finger at him.

"0-1"

"?" she said as Naga was dumbfounded.

"That is the score between you and me. From now on, it's a competition." she declared the rivalry between them, with or without the other party opinion.

She had found it. The one that she could talk to without any bound, the one that she could stand on equal footing with, a friend, a confidant and a rival.

"Cadet Nasadia, if you're already done with your speech then please pay attention to the lesson." the instructor said still facing the black board. Nasadia then turned around and looked at the board while Naga sitting next to her was holding his head with both his hands, moping.

Since Nasadia skipped a grade, now she will be training the 2nd year program. Meaning the true hell that Helputt mentioned in his welcome speech.

For most part, the training program was similar to the first year one, but the feasible why Helputt said it was true hell was because: the trainings are now at a more intense level, and during training, the instructor will monitor the cadets closely and rank them. If you fall into the bottom 3 on their ranking, there will be some after hour special trainings waiting for you.

For physical training, they will have to pass through a designated field while facing different obstacles along the way to reach the goal. For this training, a simple run track with makeshift obstacles is simply insufficient. So, the simulator chambers were built. 3 times the size and height of that from El Academy. With this chamber, any kind of obstacles, terrain and environment is possible.

This time, the terrain is set to a rain forest, tall trees with thick foliage, vines hanging down from the branches that could serve as both obstacle and advantage, swampy terrain, and to top it off, it was also raining. What is a rain forest without rain? Their goal is on the other side of the chamber which is about 1 km and a half.

"The training simulation will start in 3..."

"I won't lose to you this time, Naga-san." Nasadia reminded him about their rivalry at the starting point.

"2..."

"Kay, got it. Do make sure to watch your step though. These simulations are way to real that it could be a real pain sometime." Naga replied while scratching the back of his neck.

"1..."

"Simulation begin."

At the signal, they rushed forward from the starting line. As expected from the second year, their skill was vastly superior to that of the first year. From the way how they use the terrain to their advantage to how their movement showed that they are highly trained. So this is the difference between first and second year.

While still a first year, Nasadia always taking the lead during training. Now, everyone else was moving at the same pace at her while some were even rushing forward to take the lead. Andin innstead of being anxious, she felt excited.

_"Finally, a challenge!" _she thought to herseld then sped up her pace.

At first, the ground was solid enough. But as time passed by, the rain caused it to soften and became muddy. Some got slowed down due to change of terrain condition. This is her chance to take the lead. But remain moving on the ground proved hard to make a break through. That was when she got a new idea.

She leapt into the air and grabbed onto one of the vine hanging down from the tree branches. With a few back and forth, she swung herself to another tree, grabbed onto a new vine and moved forward with ease.

Nasadia's now taking the lead. Then she looked back over her shoulder and saw Naga coming. The ground may got swampy, but by stepping on the tree roots where they remained solid, Naga didn't have to worry about the terrain hampering his movement.

"As I thought, you're interesting." Nasadia grinned then continued to move forward.

After some time had passed, almost everyone had got through the forest. Their next obstacle was, a cliff. Because the simulation chamber was specially constructed, these kind of obstacle were made possible. Two sides of the cliff were not too far apart from each other, but a single mistake could result in more than just some bruise.

Still having the momentum, Nasadia leapt into the air and landed on the other side safely. Others also did the same, some were lacking a bit in the strength they put into their jump because they wasted too much in the forest so they wobbled a bit at the landing. And just like Nasadia, Naga pulled it off without a hitch.

"Not many could take the lead on their first time. Even if Helputt got an eye on them." Naga commented.

"How many has Colonel Heputt asked you to test, Naga-san?"

"Only a handful. Each and every single one of them is pretty problematic."

"A guy who suggested sword training is added to the program. Sword in the age of gun? Way too impractical. A girl who also suggested the same thing but replace sword with spear. Even worse. And now, you who managed to take the lead on a bunch of guys although it's her first time."

"My, so you want you and yourself alone to take the lead on my first time, Naga-san? How bold." Nasadia grinned while fake blushing.

"Hahaha, not funny." Naga replied.

It's been 20 minutes since the simulation started. Passing through the forest, getting across the cliff, this time their obstacle is a river. Due to the rain, the water level rose while the current was getting more violent each passing minute.

The clock was ticking, they were only halfway through the training, and who knows how violent the river could get. Time is of the essence. Nasadia then quickly moved along the riverside and found a ridge of rocks that could be used as stable foothold. Carefully examined the distance between each, she leapt from one rock to another and was already got to the middle.

On the other hand, Naga connected several vines together and tied a rock onto one end. He then climbed onto a tree, swung the end with the rock in midair and threw it to the other side. The rock latched onto the branches of the tree on the other side. He then tied this end tightly and slowly swung himself to the other side.

One chose the fastest way to victory but it's also a ggamble while the other chose the long way but it ensure victory. Two individuals of completely opposite nature.

_"Watch her closely and you will see, Naga. You and her are alike."_

"Alike he said. Just what did you see anyway?" Naga asked himself and stopped on his track while staring at Nasadia.

When Nasadia finally got the other side of the river, Naga suddenly snapped back to reality and also quickly swung to the other side. Other cadets also passed the river safely. Then they heard a loud noise, like something big was coming at them. They looked upstream and saw the eater coming down at them like a raging beast.

One of the girl who was crossing the rock ridge got his by the and lost balance. Without having second thought, Nasadia grabbed a long tree branch lying on the ground and jumped into the raging river.

"Gotcha!" she grabbed the girl hand in time while fixed the tree branch into the gap between the rock. She pulled the girl closer to her and straightened themselves up.

"Listen! I'll get us both to land so follow my lead!" the other girl nodded. Nasadia moved the tree branch first to find a stable fulcrum, then they both moved together, slowly but surely.

"Hey, isn't that the new first year who skipped grade?"

"Shouldn't she be more concerned about her performance and go on first? It's not like anyone will actually die if got swept by the river." the conversation of those that passed the river earlier. If you fall into the bottom 3 on the instructor ranking, you will have to take special training. So those that passed already started to move on.

Nasadia and the girl was gradually getting closer to the land, only a little bit more. But she heard the tree branch in her hand giving off cracking sounds. It was ssupporting the wweight of two and withstanding the force of a raging river after all. Nasadia then pushed the girl into land and right that moment, the tree branch snapped.

"Oh damn." was all she said as the water swept her away.

_"If I got washed downstream, it's gonna be a long way to get ba-" _while she was of how to deal with the situation if she got washed all the wway downstream, she felt her body being halted. She looked up and saw Naga hanging up side down on the vine and caught her.

"Oh! Nice save, Naga-san! It'd be really troublesome in getting to the finish from downstream. Ah! Damn, this make it another loss for me. Well, no matter! I still have plenty of chances left to even tthe score!" she just barely escaped a raging river yet she was all energetic and acted as if it was something trivial.

"Well, guess being a worrywart toward others make us alike." Naga said to himself with a sigh. He then swung Nasadia onto the rope as they got to land safely.

"We wasted too much time. Let's move on." once again, they're passing another forest. By now they're already used to the muddy terrain so it didn't take long until they rreached the last obstacle.

"So it's up there then." Naga lifted his face. Their last obstacle, of all things, it has to be a mountain.

"Climbing a mountain in this weather. They sure know how to make a challenge." Nasadia grinned while pushing her bang back. The others arrived early and were quite a distance from the ground.

The clock was counting down to the last 10 minutes. No time to lose, Naga and Nasadia ran forward and leapt onto the mountain slope. Instead of using hands to climb, they looked for spots that could serve as stable foothold and used them as pedal for the leapt. But that only apply to the lower part.

The upper part of the mountain, their trick was rendered useless as the slope was not only steep, almost vertical, but the rock also stuck out like sharp thorns. Although no longer usable, it did give them a good head start. Back to the old way then.

But climbing a mountain without gears is no easy task. Even for professional, they need the experience built over time to make up for the lack of gears, and some experiences are learnt the hard way.

Looking for spot to hold onto, knowing when to move up, when to back down, which stone to take, those aren't something that can be learnt in a blast. One mistake, and not only you'll have to start again but there's also the risk of hurting yourself.

But there are some who don't care about the risk and move forward.

Clung onto one rock, then quickly climbed up and find another, Nasadia quickly advanced toward the top. While others were busy checking whether the rocks within their range are sturdy or not, Nasadia mind currently only have enough time to process one information: which rock is next.

"Forget about the risk and take the fall!"

"If that's what you want then it worth it all." Nasadia shouted the first part, and Naga finished the rest. Then Naga got startled at how he was having the same thought as Nasadia and and even know what she was about to say.

"Sometime I fear your eye for people, old friend." his sentence directed to a certain someone.

"But is it really worth it?" he said to himself while staring at Nasadia.

Forget the risk, you will have more freedom in choosing your next course of action. That way, you will have more option in approaching what you want. Of course, all living being would choose the shortest and fastest option. But it's usually those options, that come with the fall.

"Wait, that rock...!" Naga realized something was off as Nasadia reached out to the rock on her right. As soon as she grabbed it, it fell off from the cliff. Nasadia lost balance, and her other hand that was still holding onto another rock slipped due to the rain. And with that, she fell down. Speak of the devil.

"Nasadia!" he shouted and reached out his hand. Then from above, another hand reached out toward Nasadia and caught her. It took a few seconds for both her and Naga to snap back to reality as they looked to see the owner of the hand. It was the girl Nasadia helped earlier at the river.

"Hang on!" she said. The girl then pulled Nasadia up as she clung onto the cliff, this time making sure the rock won't fall off again. They both let out a a sigh of relief, even Naga.

"Thanks! Nice save!"

"Just returning my debt." the girl replied. She has blue long hair tied into a bun behind her head just like how all female cadets are to comply.

"Let's talk later. We don't have much time left." the girl advised. Nasadia nodded as they started climbing. The rain finally started to settle down.

"You're late, cadets." said the instructor. The three of them was the last group to reach the goal.

"Simulation completed. The simulation chamber will now return to default state. You may experience slight nausea due to sudden change of terrain. Please be careful on your way out."

"You all wasted too much time in today training! If you're already having difficulty with these simple training, don't even think about joining the regular army left alone the Hamel Navy or Hamel Artic! I expect you all to do better next time. Class dismiss!" the instructor shouted as the class saluted him.

Naga, Nasadia and the blue haired girl could finally breath, being freed from the pressure of the instructor's gaze.

"Again, thanks for earlier." Nasadia turned tto the girl.

"Same to you. Thanks for helping me at the river." the girl said back.

"I'm Nasadia Seraphia."

"Leviathan." they introduced to each other. Then Nasadia turned to Naga with a mischievous grin.

"I think I heard someone called for my name earlier, with such a worried and passionate tone. Right, Naga-san?" she asked mischievously while bending forward slightly. Her posture with the ample curve on her body that could make any man become meek, was to make Naga confess that he did call for her name. But Naga snapped.

"Are you dumb?" he said and gave her a knock on the head.

"Ouch, how could you hit a girl like me?" Nasadia pouted while rubbing her head, although there wasn't really that much force behind the knock.

"You have skill but you're being too reckless. Why must you go to such length? Because of the competition with me? I've never said I'm in."

"But if you want it that bad, then fine, I accept your challenge. Under one condition. Stop being so reckless and do take care of your own well being. It takes two competitor to have a competition, not one." Nasadia was a bit surprise seeing that Naga was actually worried about her. Her first impression on him was the type wouldn't care much even if the sky was to fall down on them right this instance.

"Kay, got it." she smiled brightly while still rubbing her head. Naga then turned around, scratching his head.

_"Getting all worked up like this, so not like me at all." _Naga thought to himself. Then as they were exiting the simulation chamber, the instructor who was waiting called for them.

"Cadet Naga, Cadet Nasadia and Cadet Leviathan. May I have a few words?"

* * *

**Shiraga: **yay, cliffhanger.


End file.
